A Day In March
by SplishySplash
Summary: Oneshots in response to the March Advent calendar challenge at LJ, a story a day during the month of March.
1. Switch

**Title: Switch**

**Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash**

**Characters: Gibbs, McGee, Tony, Ziva, Damon Worth**

**Pairing: T/Z**

**Rating: K**

**Spoiler: Jack Knife**

**Authors Note: Written for March1st in the NCIS Advent.**

**Summary: Did Gibbs know something he didn't when he was told to call Tony and Ziva? **

McGee was annoyed.

It was early, he was tired and on a mission. Gibbs had told him to call Tony and Ziva to get them out of bed so they could help secure the scene while he played the faithful lap dog. He pressed the familiar numbers in sequence to call Ziva and hopefully pawning off the daunting task of waking their grouchy senior field agent.

It's not like he hadn't ever had to call Tony in the middle of the night before, but in his escalading age he was getting more and more grouchy for being woken up. When he was grouchy, McGee was usually his prime target, but if he pawned the job off to Ziva he was more likely to be more gentle towards him. His fingers were buried beneath leather and he had to pull off the glove to hit the numbers on the screen. With a yawn he dialed the ten numbers and pressed it to his ear as the breath escaped his lips in a cloud.

It rang.

It rang again.

It rang a third time.

"_This is Special Agent Ziva David," _The voice announced almost proudly. _"Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible."_

He frowned and clicked it off. It wasn't like Ziva to break rule number three and if she was asleep, it was usually very light. He poked the numbers again and gained a click in response, pressing it back to his cold cheek and waited to be connected.

It rang.

It rang again.

This time the phone connected and a groggy voice came on the other end. "What probie?" He pulled the phone back to check the number he put into the phone. It did belong to Ziva, not the voice on the other end that belonged to the senior field agent.

"Tony?" McGee asked, confused. "Why do you have Ziva's phone?"

Without missing a beat Tony answered. "McWakeUpCall, is there a reason that you are bothering me this early." He growled, a feminine voice from the background distracted both of them.

"Uh," He started and searched for his boss, who was talking to Worth. "I was looking for Ziva . . ."

In the background, he could hear Tony get up and pad across the floor. "Well you woke me up, what do you want?" He said with a yawn that made McGee yawn in response.

"We have a crime scene." McGee answered, giving the specifics of the body that was found. "Boss wants you and Ziva here ASAP. I will call. . ."

Tony grunted. "Don't worry about her." Tony answered lightly, it was muffled and followed a thud, he pulled it away with a groan. "We will be there in half an hour."

He put the phone back into his pocket slightly confused, but then again the coffee hadn't kicked in yet. What did he mean by 'we'? Did they accidently switch phones? It made sense because the NCIS issued cell phones where all the same or did Gibbs know something that he didn't know? Which also made sense because Gibbs knew practically everything about anything that was borderline crazy, to quiet his thoughts his name was called from behind him. "Uh yes, boss?" He asked, sliding the phone into his pocket.

"Did you get a hold of them?" He asked almost softly.

McGee wasn't sure how to answer. "I just got off the phone with Tony." McGee said and Gibbs raised his brow in the way he did when he was trying to prompt him to move continue his story. "I am going to call Ziva right now."

Gibbs nodded and McGee missed the small smile that played on his lips as he turned his back to question Worth. Despites Tony telling him that he would take care of Ziva, he was going to accomplish his task and did the only thing logically and called Tony's phone number.

It rang.

It rang a second time.

It connected and he received an ear full. "McGee we are on our way." Snapped Tony, he could hear the beeping of his seatbelt alarm and the slamming of his door. McGee checked the number and it was Tony's own cell phone number. "Tell boss to hold his horses."

"Why do you have both cell phones?" McGee asked, ignoring the part where Tony told him to tell Gibbs to 'hold his horses,' because McGee wasn't brave enough to do that.

Tony gasped as if he was Gibbs slapped and a feminine voice from the background sounded patronizing, the phone was covered and McGee couldn't make out what was said. "We are on our way, McGee." So his theory of them switching phones was incorrect.

That only left one other option.


	2. Unicorns

_**Title: Unicorns or How I learned not to bet against Anthony DiNozzo**_

_**Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash**_

_**Character(s): Tony, Ziva, Palmer**_

_**Pairing: T/Z**_

_**Authors Note: March 2 2010**_

_**Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or author in use of such. No Infringement of any rights is intended**_

_**Summary: Jimmy Palmer loses a bet**_

"You lost the bet, Jimmy." Said Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo with a cocky smile as the young medical examiners assistant was dragged through the darkly lit Big Deluxe Tattoo Parlor in the sketchiest part of Washington D.C. Ziva stood behind him with a bright smile and Jimmy swallowed visibly as the bell jingled a second time and his escape route was blocked off.

"But. . . But. . ." Palmer stuttered as Tony nodded to a highly tattooed man on the floor with the big drill/needle thing in his hand, writing into the bicep of a man with long handlebars on his face who was a professional to tattoos.

The tattooed man looked up and acknowledged him. "It's going to be a second Tony." He said gruffly and turned his attention back to the man's flesh he was engraving.

"No worries Buck." Tony answered turning back to Palmer with a huge smile, who started to tremble between him and Ziva, they shared a look as if he wasn't in between them that spelled affection.

"Are you scared, Jimmy?" Ziva asked almost sweetly.

He swallowed again and the color drained from his face. "Yes. . ." He squeaked and pushed his glasses up on his face and looked between them. "A tattoo is permanent."

Tony shrugged and folded his arms looking indifferent. "I told you not to bet against Tony." Ziva answered.

"I didn't. . ." Palmer struggled to speak.

Tony's indifferent look quickly changed to playful. "It's not like it hurts that much Jimmy, man up." He teased, but Palmers trembles grew stronger as thoughts of his family's thoughts about his new ink, what would it do to him professionally. "Ziva has one."

Palmer looked at her in shocked and Ziva shrugged her shoulders. "It did not hurt at all." Ziva said.

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a fish and grunted unintelligently. "You do?" He answered finally making the words flow from his mouth. "Where?"

Her smile was almost dangerous as she stepped into his personal space so that he could smell the faint smell of vanilla. "That is classified information, Jimmy."

Before he could question, let alone think, the handlebar mustache man breezed past him on his way out of the parlor and the artist stood up, walking loudly towards them. "Good to see you Tony." He said taking the agents hand tightly.

"You too Buck, thank you for seeing us on such short notice." Tony said with his bright smile. "This is my friend Ziva and this here is Jimmy Palmer, he's the one getting the tattoo today."

Buck took Ziva's hand in his gently and smiled. "She sure is a pretty thing, Tony." He said and Ziva smiled brightly before Buck turned his attention back to the nervous man, motioning Jimmy to follow him onto the floor, he didn't move so he was given a small push towards the black leather chair. "So Jimmy, what kind of tat are you getting today."

"I. . . I. . ." Jimmy quacked and he swayed slightly in his seat.

Ziva moved to Palmers right arm and rolled up the sleeve to his red t-shirt exposing his bicep before she turned her attention back to Tony who was looking around the walls that had pictures of tattoos pinned to it. "I'm thinking this." He pointed to a unicorn that was hidden in a corner that was surrounded with flowers and had long eyelashes. "What do you think Ziva?"

She shook her head. "I am just here for support, this is your choice." She answered as Palmer jumped to his feet to make a run for it, but a well place glare from her put him back into his seat. He was terrified of her, he had heard the talk around the office about her impressive skills with a knife and from Tony's own stories about her skills with ordinary office supplies. "Good boy."

"Okay." Buck said sitting in his backless rolling chair and taking an alcohol pad to clean the exposed skin and Palmer started to squirm in his seat.

"No. . . .No. . .No. . ." He chanted over and over again as his breathing picked up. His wiggling became incessant until it quieted with both Ziva and Tony holding him down. "Please Tony . . . No. . ."

Buck picked up the needle machine and moved to place it against his skin as the world went black and he passed out in the chair.

Tony looked over his curly hair at Ziva, who also looked up at him. "You owe me five dollars." Tony said with another cocky smile as Buck put the machine back down on the tray.

Ziva shrugged her shoulders. "He held off a lot longer than I thought he would have." Ziva said reaching into her back pocket for a temporary tattoo that was just as flowery and big as the one on the wall. She carefully pulled the clear film off the cover. "What would have happened if he did not pass out?"

"Ye of little faith, it was inevitable that he was going to pass out." He answered before he frowned. "I didn't really have a plan b if he didn't pass out, I probably would have gone through with it."

"Is this not a little elaborate for a prank?" She asked as she pressed the tattoo to his arm after carefully centering it on his arm, Buck handed her a moist cloth and she started to wet the back of the paper so that it would transfer to his skin.

"I was saving this for McGee, but I saw my opportunity and I took it." He answered as he watched Ziva carefully wet all parts of the paper and pulled it off slowly making sure that it affixed to his skin. She looked up at him and he beamed. "Perfect."

Buck grunted. "Probably the worst tattoo I've ever seen." He said gruffly before showing his missing teeth as both Tony and Ziva laughed. "He into that kind of stuff?" He motioned to the flowery image that took up a good part of his arm.

Tony nodded and Ziva glared. "What?" Tony said with a frown. "Palmer is totally into the unicorn thing. I wish I brought more."

"You mean I wish you bought more." Ziva said, Buck s laugh echoed through the empty parlor, before he got up and wandered back into what was probably an office and Ziva shook her head with a smile reaching into her pocket, pulling a small booklet of smaller tattoos and Tony grew more excited as he took them from her hands, but looked up curiously. "You had to buy the whole packet in order to get that one. Remind me again why I had to buy it?"

He rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I'm a guy." He answered and she raised her eyebrow. "And because I have an image to maintain."

"And I do not?" She asked as they started peeling the film off the pages and pressing it to his arm in no apparent pattern. Tony looked up and frowned as she glared at him playfully, she walked around the unconscious man to get into his space.

He scoffed and held his hands up defensively. "It's not like people can tell you're a badass ninja just by looking at you. That is why you are so terrifying." He said and her glare softened to a bright smile. Ego stroking went a long way with her and Tony knew it well. She took a step back and went back to placing the tattoos in a very colorful sleeve of fairies, butterflies, flowers and elves surrounding the unicorn as Tony stepped back to watch her work and Buck came back out with some papers in his hands.

The papers were transferred into Tony's hands and he read over them with a nod. "Thanks for taking care of this little problem." Buck said cryptically.

"I am glad we could work something out."

*~*

Palmer woke with a start and looked around the room.

He was in autopsy, that much he knew the white walls were unforgettable. Sitting up slowly, he realized that he was laying on one of the steel tables and it startled him enough to fall the three feet onto the floor with a thud.

His glasses fell off his face, but he knew he wasn't alone when there was a pair of laughs echoed through the sterile room. He crawled across the floor until he found his glasses that slid under the table, as he placed them on his face he caught the reflection of his arm in the steel door of the drawer. The sleeve of his shirt was rolled up, he had to turn slightly to see the sleeve of tattoos that was on his arms and the newly regained color on his face disappeared from his face as he passed out again.

Ziva's eye brows shot up as both her and Tony stood up to look at him, making sure he didn't hit his head on the metal table. "If we were to put him in the body freezer he would have had a heart attack." She mentioned with a reproachful glance at him.

Tony started to laugh again as they got up from their seats at Ducky's desk. "That would've been awesome though."


	3. Simpsons Did It

Title: Simpsons Did It  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Tony  
Pairing(s): NA  
Genre(s): Humor  
Author Note(s): March 3 of the daily advent, this one isn't my favorite  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringements of any rights is intended.  
Summary: Tony uses the Simpsons technique in interrogation.

The room seemed too small for the young men who sat side by side on one side of the table. The uneasy tension filled both of them as they waited for an NCIS agent to talk with them and they had sat there for a good twenty minutes in silence. They were young and allowed to make mistakes, but when they signed their life away right out of high school to the United States Navy they were forced to grow up.

One looked at the other and opened his mouth to talk to his friend when the door was slammed open and a man walked through the door, looking almost smug. He tossed a folder on the table and sat down. "My name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo." He said as he loosened his tie and leaned back in his chair. "And you are?" The men shared a look unsure how to respond to the agent. "You must be Petty Officer Jason Stanley and Petty Officer Derek Knight."

The agent picked up the folder and pulled out some pictures. Their nerves were jittering loudly enough to echo through the empty room and he was playing with it. "Look dude, we. . ."

"Why did you join the Navy?" Tony said interrupting the older of the two, Tony didn't look up from the file that now rested in his hands like a book.

They were dumbfounded and the younger one spoke up as the perspiration started to seep through his pores and the room started to smell. "To serve my country, sir." He squeaked.

"Try again." Tony answered, not looking up from his folder only wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

The older one spoke up. "Because it got me out of the boondocks, sir." He said a bit more formally and he grew braver.

Tony shook his head and tossed a photo between them. It was of their crime, a beheaded statue in downtown Washington D.C. "I don't believe that." Tony answered, quickly getting to his feet and paced behind them as they kept their heads forward."You guys just graduated from high school and what do kids your age do? Go to college, play way too much beer pong, hook up with way too many chicks. But you joined the Navy."

"I wanted to see the world and get away from Sunnyvale, North Carolina." The older one said turning to look at Tony.

The agent let out a laugh and revolved around the table again. "No, I don't believe that. The two of you beheaded national property." They shared a look and frowned and the agent rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"We don't know what you are talking about?" Said the younger man timidly.

With the mother of all eye rolls he sighed and took a seat in front of him. "Does the phrase _yvan eht nioj_ mean anything to you?" The men looked at him like he had a grown another head.  
"There is this episode of The Simpsons where Bart is in a boy band and they sing this song to subliminally recruit for the Navy. It's join the Navy backwards."

Both of them had matching furrowed brows. "You think we joined the Navy because of a TV show?" One asked slightly stunned.

Tony shrugged and played with his fingernails, not looking at them as they squirmed in their seats. "So? I became a cop because of Hawaii 5 0." He said placing his feet on the edge of the table. "But we are not here to talk about me, we are here because you guys watch the Simpsons."

"We didn't behead the statue because of Simpsons." The younger one said falling into the trap, gaining a slap from the older one.

Tony put his feet down on the table and linking his fingers together on the table. "Why don't you tell me why you beheaded the statue then. . ." He said almost smugly, McGee owned him five dollars.


	4. Greetings From Paris

Title: Greetings from Paris  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Tony, Ziva,  
Pairing(s): T/Z  
Genre(s): Romance  
Author Note(s): I like this one a lot!  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringements of any rights is intended.  
Summary: Abby gets a postcard

"Good work David and DiNozzo." The director commended proudly from his high backed leather chair as the pair stood side by side in front of him, faces holding a slight smile. "The SecNav has good things to say about your good work."

"Thank you." They said together.

The director's fingers laced in front of him as he placed his elbows on the desk. "I want you to take the week off, you earned it." He said and didn't receive the argument that he was prepared for. Gibbs was out on medical leave and McGee was playing house maid to him, but it didn't matter when they didn't argue back.

"Thank you sir." Ziva said and they excused themselves from his office and rushed back into the bullpen to gather their things.

Quickly as if they mirrored each other, they stacked their paperwork neatly and shoved it in their respective desks before their badges and gun was placed at their waist and the backpack made it to their shoulders.

As they walked in step towards the elevator their names were called from behind them. "Ziva! Tony!" They turned in sync and Abby had a smile on her face. "Where are you guys going in such a hurry?"

Tony looked to Ziva with a questioning eyebrow, who only smiled in return. "I can think of a few places." She responded to Tony, but not to Abby and they turned around as the elevator opened for them to exit. It was like they were the only people in the room, but she stopped slowly as if to not seem suspicious. "See you next week Abby."

Abby frowned, but it quickly changed to a smile when the doors slowly closed. "Send me a postcard!" She yelled as it closed completely.

*~*

Abby flipped through her mail slowly, she had nowhere to be at the moment and four more days until she could go back to work.

Phone Bill

Electric Bill

Send me money and I will represent you better.

Letter from a long lost uncle.

Postcard.

The postcard was face down with the familiar scrawl on the back that belonged to her favorite Mossad turned NCIS agent. It was short and didn't give much, just like her though.

_Wish you were here!_

_Tony and Ziva_

She smiled as she flipped the card over and a picture of the Eiffel Tower sat on the front along with a big air balloon. The big font on the front made her realize that something probably happened in Paris.

_Greetings from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada._


	5. Off Day

Title: Off Day  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Tony, Ziva, McGee, Gibbs  
Pairing(s): T/Z subtle  
Genre(s): Humor  
Author Note(s): This is day 4 in advent goodness  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringements of any rights is intended.  
Summary: He knew the day would be off the moment he stepped off the elevator.

He walked into the bullpen fifteen minutes late, which was better than the seventeen the day before and immediately sensed something was off. As he cleared the partition that made up his partners desk to see that it was vacated and only McGee sat at his desk, not bothering to look up when he heard the elevator open, nor did he greet Tony as he threw his backpack against his desk and sit in his chair with a thud.

"Where's Ziva?" Tony asked, pulling his paperwork from his desk and spreading it out strategically according to priority.

"Good morning to you too, Tony." McGee said, not removing his focus from the screen, his fingers had to have been moving at a thousand miles a minute.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Good morning, McGrouchy." He said. "Where is Ziva?"

McGee shrugged his shoulders. "She ran down to the lab for something." He answered as the woman in question appeared from the hallway with a pink substance pooled in her hand.

She was greeted by his charm smile that she returned to him in her own version. "Good morning Tony." She said lightly, dipping her fingers into the goop and spreading it along her other arm, rubbing it until it disappeared.

"Morning." He responded and she moved to lean against his desk, but made a face. The goo was lotion that wasn't to her taste, nor Tony's for her. It was a spicy, fall and dreary like scent that wasn't her normal summery sunny day scent of some sort of melon mixed with different scents. "Did you run out of lotion?"

She nodded as she transferred the lotion to her other hand to spread it on her opposite arm. "Yes, I had to borrow some of Abby's, she gave me too much." She said with a frown as she looked at the remaining blob in her hand. It didn't smell bad, just it wasn't her normal scent and it was going to throw his whole day off and he made a face. "Does it smell bad?"

Ziva held her arm to her nose to smell it. "No. . . no. It's just that. . . "He said with his face distorted to find the words that didn't want to form and her eye brow raised. "You usually smell more summery than this."

"Summery?" She asked and her brow rose higher.

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah like cucumber melon or something with citrus in it, not this cinnamony . . ." He started to describe, grabbing her arm to smell it. "Is that mint?"

"Do not worry, I will buy some summery lotion tomorrow." She said with a smile that he returned, one day off was bad enough, but two would warrant a subdural hematoma from the head slaps so with her lotion filled hand she patted him on the cheek leaving a smear across it.

"Hey!" He cried, smearing it off his cheek and glaring at her as she got out of his reach. McGee chuckled as he looked around for a place to deposit the smelly gunk that now filled his hands, with another well placed glare he rubbed it in as Gibbs materialized from nowhere and brushed between them.

"Grab your gear." He said and Tony was so far off his game he didn't ask what for, throwing Gibbs off just enough to stop and look around the room for any anomalies, but was greeted by the three of them jumping to their feet with their gear in hand and followed him into the elevator.

Tony brushed his arm across his nose and sent Ziva a glare over his arm. He smelled like Armani's finest and the cinnamony mint mess that Ziva brought up from the lab, he smelled like an expensive hooker. "DiNozzo." Gibbs said from behind him.

"Yes Boss?" He asked keeping his focus on the metal doors.

"You smell like a girl."


	6. Sweater

Title: Sweater  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Gibbs, Tony, McGee, Ziva, Abby  
Pairing(s): T/Z  
Genre(s): Family  
Author Note(s): I like this one a lot!  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringements of any rights is intended.  
Summary: He only wore the sweater on the same day every year in memory of his family.

He wore the tan sweater that was always her favorite on this day every year since they died and he would grieve in silence at their grave until the sunset before he would drive the long way home to an empty house, only allowing himself to drink one glass of burbon before retiring to bed, every year since 1991 had been the same cycle without fail. For the rest of the year the tan sweater would get pushed back into the back until this day when he would slowly pull it over himself.

He stood in the tan sweater with a black tie underneath it and his hands crossed at his front, but he wasn't alone this time. The people who had wormed their way into his broken heart and mended it stood behind him in solemn silence. Words weren't said when they pulled up beside him in their respective vehicles nor when they followed him to the statues that represented his wife and daughter.

He had tried to fill the void by quicky marriages when ended in expensive divorces, only now he realized that it couldn't mend the broken feeling when he snuck to see what was left of his family. The family behind him though surrogate, never wanted to replace Shannon and Kelly only to honor them had taken long for him get to the point to accept that they were there to stay.

They were all broken, but the bond between them was strong, brought close through traumatic experiences, namely the summer they found one of their own in the deepest hell of Africa, but that is what families do, they save each other.

In the corner of his eye he could see them standing in the light rain, dressed in their Sunday best, even though it was a Wednesday under black umbrellas held by both men he considered to be the sons he never had, the men he had the opportunity to see grow not just professionally, but personally and grow up with his guidance. The older one stole a glance at the woman next to him, who grasped his hand tightly but looked ahead.

The younger man placed a friendly arm around the youngest member, whose bare legs were exposed to the elements and she shivered against him without complaint.

A clap of thunder released a downpour of rain that drenched the tan sweater to his skin, but he wasn't bothered as he tried to remember, remember the origin of the sweater, remember his family, but the memories began to fad with age. Sometimes before he fell asleep or was about to give up he could still hear the laughter from his daughter, who today he hoped to be everything like the women behind him smart, funny, strong and amazing.

He startled slightly as he was surrounded by them the rain keeping him dry under two umbrellas and their body head keeping him warm, he turned to look at them one by one and realized that these people weren't a replacement to his past but an addition to the future that would get bigger in time.

For the first time in nineteen years, he smiled on the day that his life ended. "Let's go." He said as they Goth transferred from the younger man to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

He pressed his lips to her forehead as McGee held the umbrella behind them. "I like this sweater, you should wear it more often." Abby said softly picking at an invisible piece of lint from his arm. He turned his head to look at the pair that lagged behind them, they moseyed slowly and shared a kiss under their own umbrella. She turned slightly as to not cut the kiss short giving him view of her swollen profile that was almost hidden under her coat.

Their family was getting bigger and the bump hidden by her jacket was proof enough that their family could prosper. Gibbs sighed contently turning his face forward as the pair caught up to him he wrapped his other arm around the pregnant woman's shoulder and pressed a proud kiss to her temple as she held hands with the man she adored. "I agree, it is a very nice sweater." She said with a smile.

"Maybe I will." He said as they left the cemetery car by car to reconvene at his house and maybe he would wear the sweater another time this year.


	7. Prayer

Title: Prayer  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Abby  
Pairing(s): NA  
Genre(s): Family, Faith  
Author Note(s): This is Day 7 of the advent  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringements of any rights is intended.  
Summary:

God?

It's me Abby, I know it has been a while since we've last talked, okay it's been a couple of weeks, but things have been crazy around here since, I don't know when and I know I doubted you when I was at my weakest, I ask that you can forgive me because in the end you came through. Like you always do and I can pinpoint the exact point when my faith dwindled.

I had been tracking Ziva for awhile and I was stuck in Israel, but I had to keep looking for Tony's sake. He was going crazy with worry, with regret and was wondering around like a lost soul and it forced me to keep looking, discovering that she was on a boat. I thought he was going to die when Gibbs came into the lab announcing that the boat went down at the coast of Africa, the look on his face and the heartbreak that went through him was when I lost my faith.

He was broken and lost, but determined to figure out who was responsible for her death. I don't think I ate or slept in my crusade to aid Tony until McGee forced me to, he was really the cornerstone for both of us by being the strong one as which I was grateful and Tony probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for him or Gibbs. Gibbs wandered around in a zombie like state for a few minutes but soon snapped out of it enough to allow Tony to go on his suicide revenge killing.

They didn't tell me they were leaving, so there was no chance at getting them back, safe in America and all I could remember from that day was sobbing on the floor with Ducky at my side. I had just lost Ziva and now I lost Tony, Gibbs and Timmy all at once.

But some time later when there was no more tears to shed my phone rang and suddenly they were on their way home, all four of them. They found Ziva, alive, though beaten and battered, but alive. As was the three of them, who went on the mission to search for her.

I cried some more until I sat at Tony's desk late the next day and the elevators opened, they stepped off each with a limp. Tony's eyes never left Ziva as if she would disappear, tensing when she flinched as the crowd started clapping.

It wasn't real.

Until I hugged her, she smelled like dirt, sweat and pain, but she was real.

And now that she is comfortably resting under the watchful eye of Tony and Gibbs, I lay in my bed and thank you for bring her back, all of them back safely to me and please watch over them closely so that nothing will happen to them again. I know that her recovery is going to be difficult on all of us, but it might go easier if you are watching over her.

Thank you again.

I promise to not wait so long for your help and guidance, pray more often and I promise I will not lose faith in you again.

Amen.


	8. Closet Space

Title: Closet Space  
Author: Splishysplash, Ihave207Bones  
Character(s): Tony, McGee, Ziva  
Pairing(s): Sight T/Z  
Genre(s): Humor  
Author Note(s): Day 8 of the March Advent  
Disclaimer: NCIS and all characters and references therein are not owned by this community or authors in use of such. No infringement of any rights is intended.  
Summary: They were so far in the closet they were practically in Narnia awaiting for someone to bail them out.

They weren't supposed to be there in the first place.

But a lead led them to the house to look for evidence to close their case that was going cold by the minutes thus they were unlawfully trespassing in somebody's home, in a coat closet and chest to chest.

They found what they were looking for which was a plus for them being so far in the closet that they were practically in Narnia, hiding behind heavy winter coats and random hanging things that rested on his shoulders when an unexpected owner came home, forcing the little pow wow in the closet with a woman that could kill him slowly and painfully if he as much touched her inappropriately.

They had been in there for five minutes and every time someone would walk past she would tense against him, her fist clenching at his side preparing to deck whoever revealed their cover. He pulled out his cell phone, accidently bumping the assassin in the breast with his hand as he pulled it from his suits breast pocket and he quickly typed an SOS to anybody that would respond.

He flushed and she glared.

His breath hitched as she turned her head, breathing into his neck as the shadow stopped in front of the door for a long moment. She stomped on his foot and pulled back to glare and his breathing went back to normal, her scent was intoxicating, even more so in the in the small space and it didn't help that her body was next to his.

A hand went to the door and he gasped warranting Ziva's hand over his mouth. "Calm down, McGee." She whispered as she brushed his chest reaching for her weapon.

A loud knock from the front door stopped the twisting on the knob and it wasn't long until a familiar voice filled the room. "Good afternoon, I am here to spread the word of the lord." The accent was long a drawn out.

Ziva used the opportunity to quietly open the door and take him by the hand, dragging him from the closet into towards the sliding glass door in the kitchen as the woman politely declined the offer. "No thank you." Said the woman almost impatiently.

"Alright, just know that God loves you and if you change your mind. . ." The voice said as he watched his partner drag the probie towards the kitchen and needed to give them more time. "We will be more than happy to come back here and have a little sit down to discuss Jesus' message."

Ziva gave him a quick shove down the balcony and shut the door as quietly as she could before following McGee down the stairs and through the gate. She shoved him through the neighbor's hedges and skillfully jumped over them to the safety of the car, where Tony leaned against it with his arms folded and sunglasses resting on his face, with a book tucked under his arm.

"Please say you got the evidence." Tony said with his cocky smile, shifting against the car.

Ziva frowned before pulling the plastic bag from her jacket pocket. "Yes we got the evidence." She said scrunching up her face like she usually did when she was annoyed at him. She turned towards McGee and gave him a small tap to his face. "McGee, you need to loosen up and do not hold your breath." She glanced at Tony for clarification on the idiom who nodded.

McGee nodded and tried to get his nerves under control. "Do you generally carry a bible with you?" He asked testing out his voice and it came out in squeak.

Tony looked at the book and laughed. "Bibles don't usually come standard in company vehicles." He said, handing the book to him and on the spine read Deep Six. "It's your book, I just took a cover off."

She threw her head back and laughed loudly. "You would have been in so much trouble if she had said yes though." She said and it was Tony's turn to give her a playful glare.

He put his arms to his side with a pout and turned to get back into the car. "You're welcome for saving you from incarceration." He shut the door and Ziva laughed again as she climbed into the front seat and McGee in the back as they sped off towards the Navy Yard.

.


	9. In Sickness

The knocking was unbearable.

The constant tap, tap, tap of the hardwood door pulsed against his brain as he squinted his eyes, willing it to go away. The whine from his dog took over and he scratched at his bed before his claws tapped rhythmically in a four beat gait away from his bedroom.

A voice greeted the dog and he groaned, if it was a potential attacker then Jethro would've torn them to shreds, but the lack of screaming and mauling meant that the four legged beast was familiar with the would be attackers. "Is Timmy stuck in a well, boy?" Asked the muffled voice to the dog who whined just as loudly. The footsteps against the floor grew closer as one was light and barely noticeable where the other was loud and stomping.

"Will you stop riling him up?" Said the feminine voice, who pulled the blanket down slowly. "Hello McGee."

He only groaned, the light coming in through the cracks of his curtains was overloading his brain and the migraine seared through his body. "Good news, he's alive." Tony quipped peering over his mound of blankets.

"What. . ." McGee was only able to get out, before he was overwhelmed with the need to vomit. He threw his covers off of him and rushed out of the bed, pushing Ziva into Tony and slammed the door with a thud.

Tony sat Ziva back on her feet. "That was highly uncalled for." He said and she rolled her eyes. "What?"

With another eye roll, she turned him around and gave him a friendly shove. "Go take Jethro for a walk." She said lightly, patting him on the behind as he walked away. She started to tidy up around the room on her way to the bathroom, she knocked lightly. "Are you okay, McGee?"

He could only groaned and Ziva frowned, wandering around his room for clean linen and quickly changed his sweat soaked sheets and made his bed before disappearing into the kitchen. McGee finally came out of his bathroom and climbed into the bed that was waiting for him to climb into with the sheets cool against his feverish skin.

He woke up sometime later and he looked around the room, he was alone and even Jethro was gone. Did he imagine Tony and Ziva in a fever induced hallucination?

Movement from his kitchen concluded that he still had a fever or Ziva and Tony were really in there, doing something but he didn't really care as long as they left him alone to die in peace, they didn't have computer know-how between them to break into his personal things on the computer.

But his novel sat open on his desk for them to judge.

At this point he didn't care.

The door crept open and squeaked loudly forcing another groan from his lips before he was shuffled into a sitting position by both of them and forced up to sit up with the aids of his treacherous pillows. He cracked open an eye to see both Tony and Ziva looking at him and on his lap was a tray with soup and juice.

In Ziva's hand was a glass of water. "Take these." She ordered setting as two Tylenol found their way into his hands and he took them without complaint, drinking the glass until it was empty and handed it back to her before sliding down his pillows to fall back asleep.

Tony caught him and pulled him up. "No Probie, you have to eat." Tony said picking up the spoon and filled it with broth, noodles and chicken before holding it to his mouth. "It's a DiNozzo family secret medicine."

If it was possible for him to pale anymore, he would have and Ziva glared at Tony. "I made it from a can." She said and turned to the sick probie. "You are going to eat it."He took the spoon and released a glare at both of them who took a seat on his bed watching him eat, until every bit slowly disappeared leaving a bowl and spoon in its wake.

He did feel better, not that would he admit to Tony, his fever must have broken somewhere mid struggle to swallow. Ziva took the plate and Tony made a dramatic gesture tucking him into bed and his hand went to his forehead, though annoying, it felt good against his hot skin.

"His fever seems to be breaking." He mumbled to Ziva, who was out of his eye sight. "How are you feeling McSickDay?"

". . .been better." He answered hoarsely. "Thanks for stopping by."

Ziva smiled warmly and patted his arm as she turned to leave, but stopped. "Give either of us a call if you need anything McGee." She said softly and pulled Tony from the room with her, pushing the door and he was asleep before he heard them both wish him a good night.


	10. Badass

Title: Badass

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva/Gibbs

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Action, Humor

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: In sticky situations she was cool as a cucumber and looked totally hot doing it.

She was like freaking Lara Croft in every sense of the word, she was dressed in khaki cargo pants that probably held every knife, gun and throwing star she had own with a tight black t-shirt that clung tightly to her with a dangerous neck line, which shouldn't be allowed in dress code. Her hair was braided for a case and hung down her back when the situation got out of control.

Gunshots rang all around us, forcing me and her onto the ground in a heap, before I could even think she had her trusty SIG out of her hip holster drawn at the direction of the shots, I couldn't see what she was pointing at. "Ziva." I whispered.

"Shh!" She hissed, her eyes darting from side to side using her sniper skills to scope for the shooters. I searched the room to see if McGee and Gibbs followed us into the large room that was filled with metal boxes, which kind of reminded me of the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the rows and rows of boxes at the Smithsonian, which we were not at, but an abandoned building. The entrance we took into the room was blocked and Ziva knew it. "They are trying to separate us."

Of course they did, murders were usually the predators on the Discovery Channel that separated the sickly zebras from the heard and ate them for lunch. But boy were they ever wrong, Ziva David is completely badass and I am just glad that I am on the same side as her. "How many?" I asked, she peeked around the box we were hiding behind as my back rested against it, checking the clip in my own gun.

"Four I think." She mumbled and I frowned, when Ziva thought it meant she wasn't sure. She reached into her boot and pulled out her much smaller gun, it changed so I wasn't sure what it was. "On the count of three." She whispered.

On the count of three what?

"One."

I didn't question it.

"Two."

Okay maybe I should have, but I assumed I was covering her and you know what they say about assuming.

Before I could react, she jumped out from behind the box and I followed with our firearms pointed ahead. She pointed at the corners pulling off two shots at each of the men who flanked the outsides as I got one shot off at the man on the upper floors.

She was off by her estimates as we were completely surrounded. I took the front and fired another three rounds, nailing two more. We ran across the room and she picked up a dead man's semi automatic as we took cover again. With her breathing labored she reached into her other boot and handed the clip to me, just in case I was close. We shared a look and she gave the signal, I go to the right and she took the left.

One

Two

Three

I stepped out, firing shot after shot and looked at her. Standing cool as a cucumber she fired the semiautomatic taking out the remaining men that stood on the balcony.

She looked totally hot.

We took another round coming at us and we dove behind another box, but she didn't surrender so easily, firing another few shots as we hit the ground in a collective heap.

The silence was unbearable as we laid there on the hard floor and I mentally catalogued both our injuries. I couldn't really tell from where I was laying, but we both seemed unscathed. "You okay?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes, you?" She asked breathlessly, her face was so close to mine I could feel her breathing against my face. Her eyes glanced at my lips and it seemed to me she was getting bothered by our situation, but now wasn't the time.

I took a deep breath to calm the feeling that was rushing through me. "I'm good." I said as some loud pounding from outside the room, followed by our names being called.

It was a moment longer before she spoke again. "Hey Tony?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"Can you get off of me?" She asked and I frowned, forgetting that I was on top of her and she could very well kill me with her finger so I rolled of and sat up as she did the same. I was able to give her the once over a little better, she was bleeding slightly from her elbow where she scraped it when she fell and I was okay.

She got to her feet slowly and surveyed the area for any other potential threats, but seemed satisfied with the outcome enough to wipe the dust from her front. She held out her hand and I took it, getting up to my feet slowly and copied her. She turned her back to me as the door was kicked in and Gibbs came through with his gun drawn, he put the gun away and McGee followed him in.

The dust was collected on her back and I couldn't resist, I reached out and brushed the dust from her back softly, she flinched and turned her head. "Sorry, the dust is all over your back."

Ziva nodded and I continued brushing off her shoulders, down her back and onto her ass. It was only to get the dust off I promise, but it was then that Gibbs saw me do it and it warranted a glare from him. "DiNozzo." He said as I continued down her thighs.

"Yeah boss?" I asked, not looking up from my work and dusting my partner, it was my fault that she was dusty in the first place.

"Do you want me to break your hand?" He asked as he got closer to us.

I swallowed but kept my voice firm. "No Boss, I would not like that." I said.

"Then I suggest you keep your hands to yourself." He said and I dropped my hands with a small pout.

Ziva gave me a side glanced smile before briefing the big man on what happened. In her steps towards him, she picked up the semiautomatic and gave it the once over as she described what happened. She didn't even break a sweat in the little gunfight and it was awesome! If only we and an unlimited amount of ammo and were in a department store we could have recreated the scene from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the whole back to back thing and shooting without care. But Ziva would have done it better than Angelina and looking smokin' hot doing so one thousand time fold and I think me and Brad are pretty close, I maybe a bit better looking than him.

Damn my partner is such a badass.


	11. Family

Title: Family

Author : Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: T, Z, A, M, G

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Family

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Anthony DiNozzo stood against the window and tiredly rubbed the back of his neck the view was breath taking and something he had never in his wildest dreams thought he was see and it was downright breath taking,

Anthony DiNozzo stood against the window and tiredly rubbed the back of his neck the view was breath taking and something he had never in his wildest dreams thought he was see and it was downright breath taking, if he were to turn into a sap. He had lost track of how long he had been there and the only thing keeping him from a totally dreamlike state was the sounds of the early morning business that took place behind him just as oblivious to him as he was to the loud footsteps and quiet talk. He was brought out of his stupor by an accidental bump by a well rested elderly man holding a bouquet of colored balloons.

"I know that look." He said with an apologetic smile and Tony tore his eyes from the view long enough to make eye contact with the man. "The look that screams 'I'm cared witless,' believe me I've been in your shoes before albeit thirty years ago." Tony turned his attention back to the window and place a hand on the wall. "Which one is yours?"

A soft smile grazed his tired face as he pointed to the object of his affection in the row closest to the window, a little bundle wrapped in pink. "That one," Tony said hoarsely, nodding towards the bassinet without a nametag, but room number 804 DiNozzo in bolded sharpie labeled it. "That's my little girl."

The man admired the bundle and smiled proudly. "No name yet?" He asked and Tony nodded. "It's understandable, it is quite a big step that shouldn't be taken lightly because she has to live with it for the rest of her life. Does any name in particular stand out?"

Tony shrugged. They hadn't talked about what to name the child yet, but he didn't care. Sure there were women he could name her after like Jenny or Kate, but the more he thought about it, the child would have at least six or seven names if they were to name her after all their loved ones who died. "We haven't really talked about it, but whatever would be perfect for her."

The man clasped a hand on his shoulder and smiled brightly. "You will have to let me know what you choose should we cross paths again." He said turning on his heels and heading down the hallway.

Tony turned to the baby again whose pink cover hands escaped the blanket and her eyes were closed. With a sigh Tony walked down the hall to room 804 and opened the door quietly. The mother of the child lay propped up against the pillows and her eyes opened at the sound of the door opening, a weak smile on her face.

"How is she?" She asked hoarsely as Tony pressed a kiss to her mouth and sat down, taking her hand in his.

"She is sleeping and still nameless." Tony said, placing a tired smile on his face, he brushed her hair out of her face and looked to watch dramatically. "And she is officially six hours old."

She chuckled and groaned in pain. "Don't make me laugh." She whined sorely. "I think I solved the nameless problem." But before she could tell him, the door opened and a nurse pushing the cradle into the room and Tony watched as Ziva, though sore and exhausted, lit up brightly. Tony reached in the bassinet and picked up the small infant and settled it into her arm.

She looked up from her baby at Tony who sat carefully next to her with an arm around her shoulders a the nurse handed him a small bottle before exiting, he placed the tip to her and she accepted it greedily. After a moment of silence between the adults Tony spoke in a whisper. "I'm guessing Room 804 DiNozzo isn't an option, it was starting to grow on me."

She shook her head slowly and brushed her finger across her cheek. "Lilah Kelly." She said softly, looking back up at Tony. Ziva watched the little one in her arms as an overwhelming emotion washed over her. She never thought it was possible to feel so much love for anything, let alone the small pink bundle that had come from both Tony and herself that rested in her arms. "Lilah means 'our little one' in Hebrew." She looked up at him to get his thoughts on the idea.

Tony smiled. "She is our little one. I love it." He said, pressing his lips to her forehead before placing his lips on her mothers. "Lilah Kelly DiNozzo."

"Lilah Kelly DiNozzo." She whispered, trying it out on her lips as she kissed the soft downy hair whose open eyes began to close. As Lilah finished the bottle Tony took her from her mother and placed her against his shoulder, patting her back as the nurse had shown him a couple of hours before.

The unwanted air came out and he sat her back into Ziva's arms "Thank you." He whispered, he brushed his finger against the soft cheek of his daughter and a tap on the door didn't break their moment. What broke it was Abby squeaking and the loud clicking of her heels against the linoleum as she came up to the side of the bed.

"Oh guys, she is so beautiful." Abby cooed as McGee looked over her shoulder with a smile on his face.

Tony looked to Ziva and as if they could read each other's mind, they shared another smile. "Would you like to hold her, Abby?" He asked taking the infant from one arms to another.

Abby's face lit up as she held the baby as if it was the most fragile piece of evidence and McGee placed his finger into the infants clenched fingers as he watched her from behind Abby. "I'm your Aunt Abby." She said to the baby. "I would have been here sooner, but airplanes can only go so fast and I got on one as soon as I heard that you were coming. You remember your Uncle Timmy, I know you met him once. . ."

Gibbs slid passed the scientist and clasped Tony on the shoulder as made his way to Ziva, who just watched them tiredly. "How are you feeling?" He asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead and taking a seat in the chair next to the bed.

"Sore." She said with a smile, her head lulled to the side with her curly hair falling out of the knot at the back of her head. "But that is to be expected, yes?"

"From what I'm told." He answered as they watched Tony, McGee and Abby fawn over the newest member of their family.

Abby looked up with a smile and carefully switched the infant into McGee's arms, the younger man's smile lit up the room at the prospect of being an 'uncle' to the little girl in his arms, who was going to be completely spoiled. It wasn't long until McGee handed the baby off to Tony, who set her in Gibbs' arms and the familiar weight of the infant rested between them. The little dark haired infant opened her eyes, which were lightly colored like her fathers. "Does she have a name yet?" Abby asked as she sat on the end of Ziva's bed.

"Lilah Kelly DiNozzo." Ziva said and she watched Gibbs intently.

Abby cooed and McGee didn't say anything, only smiled. "It means 'our little one' in Hebrew." Tony replied as they waited for Gibbs' thought. Of all the women that they could name the infant after, Ziva had chosen Gibbs' daughter because it was the greatest honor that she could bestow on the man who she looked up to as a father figure, all of them.

"It's beautiful." He said and bounced the baby slightly, he looked proud like a first time grandfather, which in the eyes of both Tony and Ziva, he was. "Just like you are, Lilah." After a long moment of comfortable silence the infant yawned and squeaked as if she was going to start to cry.

Gibbs skillfully got up and handed placed the infant back in her mother's arms and she settled enough to sleep. "Thank you." Ziva said as she kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled, "I am so proud of you." He whispered to her and kissed her cheek again. "We will be back later, get some rest."

Abby pouted as they all said their goodbyes and Tony placed his daughter back into the cot. "Do you know what today is?" Ziva asked as he climbed into the bed with her.

He yawned as he brushed her hair out of her face. "Other than our daughter's birthday?" He asked, tucking himself comfortably against her and closing his eyes. Fifteen hours of labor was too long and definitely was uncalled for, but the result in the end was worth it and he about as exhausted as she was.

"It's Kelly's 29th birthday today." She whispered with a yawn of her own.

Tony sat up. "How do you know that?" He asked, he was pretty sure Gibbs wouldn't come right out and say it, but if he did he didn't hear it.

"Before I came to NCIS, it was in his file." She said closing her eyes, her sentences broken. "I never forgot it."

Tony laid his head back down against her own head. "So this three week early thing was just a ploy?" He asked and he gained a laugh as they both drifted off to sleep.


	12. If You Give a Dog a bath

Title: If You Give a Dog a bath

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony, Ziva, McGee

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Humor

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: For such a tough looking dog, he sure was a pansy

". . . Now his vet's number is by the phone. . ." McGee said putting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, turning around to give the apartment one last once over.

"McGee, I am pretty sure I can handle your dog." Ziva snapped and he opened his mouth to say something. "His food is in the cabinet, one can in the morning one at night and make sure there is dry food for him to snack on throughout the day. No wild parties and no Tony, I got it."

"I was just going to say goodbye." He said with a smile and she flushed.

"Goodbye." She returned and gave him a small shove out of the door, he stopped in the hallway and she gave a small glare. "You are going to miss your flight, we'll be okay."

She shut his own door in his face and turned to look at the dog who sat patiently on the floor with his tongue sticking out. She moved around the apartment and he followed closely as she took a seat on his couch, Jethro placed his head on her knee giving her the sad eyes, which was almost too much to bear. She patted the seat next to her, but he stayed put.

The dog was very well trained.

On the coffee table was a set of typed instructions, she leaned forward to pick them up allowing her eyes to scan the page.

Please keep Jethro off the furniture, sometimes he likes to jump onto the couch and he should know better.Do not let Tony into the apartment, he goes through my things and as a precaution I am taking my novel with me or anybody else for that matter. Try to keep him on the designated routine. . .blah blah

Ziva rolled her eyes and set the paper back down. "Who does McGee think I am? A sixteen year old babysitter?" She asked the dog as she got up, he jumped up excitedly as she walked to the window. It had been raining for two days straight and it looked to have heeded long enough to give the dog some fresh air. "Let us take a walk before it starts to rain again."

She grabbed the leather leash from the counter and the shepherd yipped excitedly as she clipped it to his collar and led him from the apartment. The park she usually ran in the morning was only a block away and the four legged animal was usually frequent company on her 0500 jog and they had their own park routine, she would walk him to the park before jogging around the path and return the dog at 0630 before heading home to shower.

It was later in the afternoon, but the dog didn't care. He sniffed every inanimate object like any normal dog would and McGee would be appalled at her laxness in her handling of the drug sniffing dog, but Ziva did not care and allowed the dog to be a dog.

They reached the nearly empty park and she took him to a hidden field that they ran passed everyday that was abandoned so she unclipped the dog and let him run. She pulled the yellow tennis ball from her jacket and have it a toss, the dog went after it and brought it back. He growled playfully as she took the ball from his mouth before she repeated the action a good fifteen or sixteen times and the dog never tired of it. On the seventeenth time the ball went astray and found its way into a grove of trees. Jethro chased it and disappeared from her view.

Ziva trotted after him, but when he reappeared he was covered from head to tail in mud. "Jethro." She reprimanded lightly as it started to gently rain. She took the ball and placed it back in her pocket. "You need a bath."

She nodded her head and the dog followed her back up the small hill and through the park, she didn't bother clipping the leash back on as she walked back to his apartment. She opened the door and the dog shook all over the friendly doorman who moved to greet her, Ziva smiled her apology as they took the stairs to McGee's flat. Tony stood at the end of the hallway prepared to knock on the door, but caught sight of the pair from the landing.

Tony squatted and the dog ran over to him, but before he could get close Tony noticed the mud and stood up. "Woah boy." He said, petting the only non mud covered part of him, the very tip of his head. "What did she do to you?"

Ziva walked up slowly with a smile on her face as she pulled out McGee's key to open the door. "What did I do to him? I took him for a walk and we played fetch until he found the mud and he went nuts." She looked to him to correct the idiom, but it was correct so she smiled as she pushed the door open. "You are just in time to help me give him a B-A-T-H."

He shut the door behind them and placed his keys on the counter. "A bath?" He asked and the dog's ears perked up. The German Shepherd took off, sliding across the hardwood floor down the hallway and out of sight.

Ziva glared. "He does not like taking baths." She said pulling off her jacket and following the trail of mud down the hallway into McGee's room, the dog was laying down in his crate looking absolutely miserable. "Jethro."

The dog whined and Ziva stood her ground, pointing to her feet. "For such a badass, he is really a big pansy. I guess that is why him and McGee get along so well." Tony said, pulling out a dog treat from his pocket and the dog scampered out, accepting the bait and Tony grabbed his collar.

Ziva held the bathroom door open and shut it after Tony dragged the beast in. Ziva turned the bathtub on and Jethro gave a howl. "Get in." She pointed to the tub and he fidgeted, but when Tony took a step towards him he jumped right in. "See that was not so bad."

She started to rinse the mud off the animal and Tony searched for the shampoo with her back to Tony he went through the cabinet, finding the one designated for dogs and after the sniff test he discarded it. He took his side next to Ziva and reached for McGee's Axe shampoo. "You are more of an Axe man anyway." He commented and before Ziva could correct him, the goo was all over the dog.

Ziva gave him the mother of all eye rolls. "That is not meant for dogs, Tony." She reprimanded lightly, but they started to scrub it into his fur.

"The ladies won't be able to resist it, huh boy." He said to the dog, Tony used his arm to brush the soap that flung at his nose when the dog took advantage of it and started to squirm, making his escape out of the water. Ziva held her hands out to block the errant water as she and Tony fell onto the floor in a thud. He shook and the soap and water flew in every which direction, soaking both of them in the process. "Alright animal, that was not okay."

They got to their feet and wrestled the dog back into the tub, but not without Jethro pulling Ziva into the tub with him. The room was filled with laughter as Ziva sprayed him lightly with the hose. When the small space was absolutely as messy as humanly and animally possible the dog was clean and smelled like McGee. They were able to towel dry him and themselves when they freed him from the bathroom and they stopped to admire the mess.

"McGee is going to kill you, you know that right?" She said, her face showed all of her amusement over the situation they found themselves in. The floor was muddy and dog hair layered every surface in puddles of water. The bathtub was coated in dirt and hair, but it was no worse than the two federal agents staring at it, Ziva was completely drenched and covered in mud where was Tony was soaked to the bone as she was and covered in Axe shampoo.

"Me? I'm not even supposed to be here." He said holding his hands up defensively. She glared playfully and picked up the errant towel from the floor. "But after a shower, I might help you clean up."

"Good idea."


	13. Childish Games

Title: Childish Games

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony, Ziva, McGee

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Humor

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: They like to play games, it was blatantly obvious even when it was in the most subtle ways.

They liked to play games, it was blatantly obvious even when it was in the most subtle ways. Timothy McGee found it amusing, when they didn't involve him in any way, shape or form and he could write a book about their little games and he did, from his desk as they worked quietly playing eye volley.

Tony would look up at her as she worked, looking down at her paper work and she would look up at him when he answered the phone robotically, watching him stare at the computer screen without being caught. Ziva was much better at the game than he was Tony always got caught and would smile bright enough to make McGee's jaw hurt.

The game was played so often now, he doubted they realized what was happening anymore or even kept score, but Gibbs would stroll in and the round would be over. More and more often now it didn't matter if the boss was in the room or not and McGee would often wonder if he realized what was going on.

When the bat signal would launch they would race to the car or truck to sit in the driver's seat (Tony usually won) or for shotgun (Ziva usually won) depending on the scenario. Once in a great while, somebody would bring in the 'Punch Buggie' game to test each other's attentiveness and it usually left McGee with bruised arms.

Another popular game was tag. He would brush his fingers against her back or she would touch his arm. He would bump into her to gain support or she would squeeze past him in order to reach something. It was often hard to keep track of who was it or what variations of the game they played. TV tag was Tony's favorite that involved him touching her when he explained a movie quote or she played 'Stuck in the Mud' where she would touch Tony and he would freeze.

King of the Rock, or power for dominance was more of a personality issues as they constantly fought for who was on top and it was usually Ziva, but occasionally Tony would out smart her long enough to get on top.

The newest of the bunch of games included hiding go seek. Tony would breeze into the office and remove his backpack before looking around for his partner, who would be getting coffee or down in the lab or god knows where and Tony would ask where she was every time. McGee could only shrug and Tony would go in search of the dark haired Israeli who would appear as soon as he would leave. Ever the observant one Ziva would notice the change in scenery and immediately knew that he had arrived. Without fail she would sit at his desk and place her heels on the corner while glancing over a file when Tony came back. Ziva was never really the seeker, she always seemed to know where Tony was even when he was deliberately hiding behind pillars or just waiting for the chance to startle her. It never worked and McGee didn't want to see that day that it did, because he would end up with a bloody nose.

The games were fun to watch, but McGee was never a fan of participating in them. Between the two of them they were the most resourceful people in the world and they didn't have to talk about it. Tony would glance at her and she would smile slyly before his face would be glued to the desk or his car keys would be dangling from the sky lights just out of his reach.

They were also very keen on psychological warfare.

Tony was quick to pick up on any of Ziva's super ninja Mossad mind tricks as Ziva was catching on to Tony's movie mind tricks and as a team they were deadly.

Or maybe Timothy McGee was just gullible.

It wasn't that because they had used it on criminals before and it worked like a charm. They perfected the good cop/bad cop thing and would switch roles at the change of a hat. It was really quite awesome.

*~*

McGee sat at his desk early one morning at watched as Ziva came in and sat at her desk. She greeted him with a smile before disappearing from her desk, just as Tony came in. "Where's Ziva?"

The young probie shrugged his shoulders and placed his bag on the floor but before he could go find Ziva, she crept up on him and placed her hands over his eyes. "Guess who?" She asked with her voice deep and it made him shiver. Ah a new game.

McGee watched for a moment before pulling up a document on his computer.

_**The newly made Agent came out of her hiding spot, the one behind the stairs and placed her hands over Agent Tommy's eyes in hopes of startling him, but he knew that was where she was hiding. "Aren't you a little old for such childish games?" Asked Tommy playfully, hoping that she couldn't feel his racing heartbeat that raked through his body.**_

"_**We cannot all be as grown up as you, Tommy." She whispered huskily against his ears, she stood high on her tip toes with her front flush to his backside and it appeared that they were both enjoying the closeness of the others body. **_

McGee watched, hoping to get their interactions just right, but froze when a familiar figure brushed past him to the desk across from his own. The characters to his left hadn't realized that they weren't alone until Gibbs spoke up. "If you two are done playing grab ass, we have a case." He said and Ziva dropped her hands, taking a step back from Tony who quickly flushed. Quickly they shuffled their belongings and grabbed their gear before following their boss out the door.

McGee smiled as he followed them.

This next book was going to be an award winner.


	14. Kate

Title: Kate

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony, McGee, Gibbs, Kate, mentions Ziva

Pairing: None (pre TIVA)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, note I haven't really seen any of the NCIS' preZiva save for Twilight and SWAK so bare with me.

Summary: They sat side by side in the pew, exhausted from escorting their fallen member back to her home town.

They sat side by side in the pew and they were exhausted from the flight escorting the body of their fallen member, Caitlin Todd was being laid to rest after succumbing to the darkness of death. Tony stood surprisingly strong next the young probie, who had never had a coworker die in the line of duty before. Tears streaked the younger man's face, yet Tony's remained dry.

"We are here to celebrate the life of Caitlin Todd, who left us tragically this week. But she wouldn't want us to dwell on the matter that she left, but what she wants us to celebrate is that she was here with us and touched us individually." The preacher started, from his place at the altar. The dark wood casket was to his right surrounded by flowers and pictures of their comrade. Tony glanced at his boss who sat stoically with an arm around the young scientist, who was lacking makeup and held his arm like a vice. "Kate was vibrant and full of life. . ."

She was never coming back. Tony tensed and placed a hand on McGee's arm, giving it a squeeze and the probie didn't look up. ". . . Kate loved her country and was willing to die for it, she worked for the president and worked for the Navy Criminal Investigative Service and she loved her job. When she would describe the outline of her job description, we would often tease her about it being like the TV program CSI and she would get so worked up about it." Tony smiled, just like Kate though he was sure that she didn't even have a TV.

He gained a laugh from the crowd just as Kate would've wanted it. He looked to the ceiling and smiled, holding his hands out to the side. "Kate, I know you are looking down at your friends and family here on this sunny morning celebrating all that you have brought to them, please we ask that you keep a close eye on us and protect us until we see you again."

Tony felt a bit of comfort in the words the priest said, though he wasn't a religious man, that Kate would be watching out for him and he was going to need it keep up with Gibbs and the woman who helped bring justice to her, if he ever saw her again. Tony looked around the room which was filled with flowers and pictures of angels and Jesus, a place that she often spoke about and he truly believed that she was up with them, bossing around the head honcho a little bit.

The priest gave his final words and they got up to pay their last respects to the woman, Tony smiled as he traced the intricate pattern against the wood. "I will miss you Kate." He whispered as he clasped the younger man on the shoulder, pulling him out into the sun and the four slowly took the cobble path towards their rental car to head back home.


	15. Breaking The Rules

Title: Breaking The Rules

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony, Ziva, Ducky, Gibbs

Pairing: T/Z

Genre:

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: She wasn't having a good day and it didn't help that she had first degree burns on her neck to prove it.

She wasn't having a good day that much was for sure.

It didn't help that she was sitting on the cold steel table in her singlet with first degree burns on her neck and face while the friendly medical examiner cleaned the burns with sterile ointment and water. She flinched as he touched one that was borderline to second degree. "Oops, sorry my dear." Ducky said, turning to grab some more ointment.

The doors swished opened and the bright faced senior agent walked in. "Good morning Ducky. I was wondering if you had the autopsy report on Joan Davis." He said, not noticing the live patient sitting on the steel slab, until he got closer. "Ziva?"

"Good morning Tony." She said as brightly as she could muster, her head was tilted to the side to keep her hair out of the ointment.

He took a step closer and looked over the greasy skin, to see the raw skin. "What the hell happened?"

She rolled her eyes and wasn't giving anything, but Ducky was free game. "Agent David broke one of the rules." He said with an amused smile.

Tony's face fell. "Rule twenty three?" He asked and Ziva nodded, flinching as an unceremonious poke to a burn that was low on her chest. "What did you do to his coffee to warrant the burns?" It would have to be bad, Gibbs liked Ziva a lot.

She gave him a dirty look as he poked again at goo on her skin. "I ran into him and the coffee spilled." Ziva explained, Tony looked more thoroughly and the droplet pattern fit her story. Gibbs was at least six inches taller and usually held his coffee at her neck level and a spill would be catastrophic to her skin.

Ducky looked between the both of them and smiled. She looked away embarrassed under his gaze, searching for anything that might scar. The ME took a step back and excused himself. "I'm going to get some bandages." He announced, but wasn't heard over their moment.

"Just ran into him?" He asked after the doors swooshed closed.

She shrugged as he circled around, to look at her back which was speckled with the raw skin. "Do you honestly think he would throw his coffee at me?" She asked with a raised brow, he was close enough to feel him shrug next to her. "He stepped off the elevator as I was getting on. It was an accident."

He brushed his fingers along her bare shoulder and she shivered under his touch. "You have been here for going on five years now and you haven't learned the rules yet?" He asked his tone light and teasing.

Before she could retort the doors opened and Gibbs came in with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. "Maybe you should have done a better job at teaching them to her." He said breezing past him to give the woman a once over.

"Of course boss." He said jumping up and standing straight, he had been working for the military way too long.

Gibbs looked her over, her skin waxy under the ointment. "You okay, Ziva?"He asked, giving her look that dared her to lie.

"I am fine, I have suffered worse than a simple coffee burn." She said brushing off the attention, suddenly feeling underdressed in the presence of her boss. Gibbs raised his eye brow and she shifted under his gaze, but didn't balk. "I am fine."

"Alright, come on DiNozzo you have work to do." Gibbs said turning on his heels and walking out of the room as Ducky came back with bandages in his hands. They exchanged greetings as Tony pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, but didn't go unnoticed by the boss and ME as he trotted over to them.

Ducky didn't acknowledge it, but laughed when out of the corner of his eye Gibbs smacking him upside the head. He walked over to Ziva and she flushed slightly under his gaze, the great Ziva David was playing shy. "Let us cover these wounds and you can get back to work."

"Thank you Ducky." 


	16. Parisian DayNight

Title: Parisian Day/Night

Author: SplishySplash, Ihave207Bones

Characters: Tony/Ziva

Pairing: Tony/Ziva

Genre: Pre-Jetlag *Spoiler*

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Day 16 "Lucky"

Summary: It wasn't the first time Paris had crossed his mind before this night/day that they were sleeping.

He had to be the luckiest man in the world. Even though he was tired, he allowed himself to bask in the moment. His partner had gravitated from her side of the bed into his and was curled up against him softly breathing. Her wet hair dampened his shirt, but he didn't care because the smell of lavender was comforting to him.

Though the hotel had messed up on the room reservations, they were too jetlagged to care and barely made it to shower before they both crashed onto the bed. His mind wouldn't allow for him to sleep, only watching her sleep as he concluded that there was no other place in the world that he would rather be, than in Paris, with Ziva.

It wasn't the first time Paris had crossed his mind before this day/night that they were sleeping in the same bed. Two years ago, with Jeanne. She wanted him to go with her after they moved in together, but obviously it didn't work out that way and for good reasons.

The woman who was cuddled next to him shifted so that her head rested on his chest and her arm low on his waist, tangling their legs together. Who would of thought that the super ninja spy was a cuddler when she let her guard down? She looked content and he was content when she was content. He carefully brushed a piece of wet hair from her forehead, letting his hand slide down her cheek to the side of her neck, down her shoulder to rest it on her hip.

A sigh escaped her lips and he was convinced that she was going to wake up, maybe break his arm for touching her, but she didn't wake only a small smile gracing her lips. At that moment he realized that he was exactly where he wanted to be and that everything that he had gone through, Kate, Gibbs' Mexican hiatus, Jeanne, Jenny dying, Michael, Israel, Somalia and all the little things in between had led to this very moment of the both of them laying in a Parisian hotel room, in a single bed and if someone was to ask if it was worth it he would answer simply, yes.

All the heart ache and pain that he had suffered through, he would do it all over again just to be in this position with her again.

And for that he was the luckiest man in the world.

"Go to sleep Tony." She mumbled against his chest.

He tensed slightly and he should've known that she was still awake. "I can't sleep." He answered, his body said that it was still early but the time difference begged to differ.

She yawned and buried her face into his chest, inhaling the soap and him. "Yes you can, just close your eyes." She said, her fingers trailing lazily against his tee shirt in what was a soothing pattern. He smiled and caught her hand in his, lacing his long fingers with her own.

"Just like that?" He asked lightly.

She nodded. "Just like that." She repeated and soon her breaths evened out and she had fallen asleep again.

Her warmth was intoxicating and their embrace was intimate, soon he allowed himself to lull off into a deep slumber.


	17. Green Puppies

Title: Green Puppies

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva/McGee/Gibbs/ Mike Franks/Amira

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Humor

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Ziva and Amira have some alone time to color.

She was alone in the bullpen, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. Tony and McGee had gone out to chat with a witness and Gibbs was somewhere in the building, leaving her to find a connection to their victim to the suspect through paper trails and transactions. Somewhere behind her the elevator dinged and she didn't bother to look up, thinking that it was her partners and was surprised to see that it wasn't them, but Mike Franks and his granddaughter.

"Zi!" The little girl cried out, running away from her grandfather to the woman sitting at her desk.

Ziva got up and picked the little girl up with a smile on her face. "Hello Amira." She said returning the little girls strong hug. "What brings you two here?"

Mike smiled and unshouldered the backpack. "We're not staying too long, where's Probie?" He asked gruffly and speak of the devil, Gibbs whistled from the top of the stairs gaining the attention of his mentor. "Do you mind looking after her for a bit?"

She nodded with a smile. "Of course not." She said, setting the girl on her desk as he disappeared up the stairs after Gibbs. "Let us see what we can do."

"Color!" Cried the little girl excitedly and Ziva unzipped the bag to find a hoard of coloring books and a box of crayons on the bottom. She pulled them out and the little girl searched for her the one she wanted to use and the one she chose had pictures of baby animals on the cover.

Amira folded her legs and dumped the crayons on the desk as she opened the book to the page of small farm animals on one side and puppies on the other side. She attacked the ducklings with a bright yellow crayon and Ziva sat back at her desk with a smile until the little girl pointed at the opposite page. "Color." She ordered softly.

She shrugged and picked up a yellow crayon to fill in the lines of the puppy, but Amira her head negatively and picked up a dark forest green. "A green dog?" She asked and the little girl nodded with a giggle. Ziva shrugged again and started to trace the outline of one of the pups, a small smile gracing her lips.

Entertaining the child was simple, as they colored in the lines their giggles filled the room and it caught the next to exit the elevator off guard. Tony walked in slowly and McGee stalked behind him, just in case errant objects came flying past, but a small chuckle escaped his lips when he saw Ziva animatedly talking with the little one.

They stood in front of her desk side by side for a minute before Ziva looked up, she shared a look with the little girl before they both erupted in a fit of laughter. "What's so funny?" Tony asked as McGee brushed past him to his desk.

"Nothing." She said and Tony shrugged before taking his own seat. He watched as they giggled like uncontrollably and tried to ignore it, but a smile broke onto his face. She finished coloring the third puppy in a different shade of green, a bright lime color to synchronized with the other two dogs. "Finished." The little girl nodded and Ziva changed her crayon and wrote her name on her picture in her fancy curly handwriting, the little girl frowned and Ziva smiled. "Do you want to write your name on your picture?"

The little girl nodded and searched the stack of wax for the brightest pink crayon in the bunch and Ziva took her small hand in hers, guiding it in the directions of her name. "A-M-I-R-A." She spelled out and the girl sounded out the letters with her. "Amira!"

Amira clapped excitedly and carefully, with the skill of a three year old tore out the pages of her coloring book before pointing to Tony with Ziva's picture. "Tony?" Amira nodded and passed her a green crayon to write his name on the top. Again Ziva took the little girls hand and this time whispered as she spelled out his name. "T-O-N-Y, Tony."

"Tony?" Amira tried the name out on her lips and pointed to McGee. "No Tony?"

Ziva's smiled softened and shook her head. "Tim." She said and the girl pointed to the picture she colored, the little girl was thoughtful. "T-I-M. Do you want to give it to them."

Amira grew shy, but nodded as Ziva lifted her off the desk and she scampered over to McGee first. She pulled on his sleeve and he turned to look at her. His looked unsure, but the big smile of her face brought one to his own face as she placed the paper into his hands. "Thank you Amira." He said, admiring the scribbling of colors that filled the page. He turned to pin it to his wall and the little girl beamed as she wandered over to Tony.

"Tony." Amira said and he turned to face her, his boyish grin was infectious. "Here."

He took the picture and smiled when he saw his partners beautiful in the lines picture of green puppies, blue grass and a sunset for the sky. The picture was completely abstract, but was perfect. "Thank you." He said, glancing at Ziva and she flushed as he pinned it to the wall closest to him. "Are you having fun with Ziva?"

Amira nodded excitedly and climbed into Tony's lap. "We colored."

"I can see that, you made a very pretty picture." He said chatting with the child. "So did Ziva."

Ziva watched with a smile and marveled how well kids got along with Tony. The little girl wasn't shy, but she took to Tony very well and they chatted about her twenty minutes with Ziva. She recounted every detail to Tony who actively listened and participated in the conversation until Mike Franks and Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

The three agents froze, but a smile on the older man's face told them they were in the clear as the little girl jumped off Tony's lap and into the arms of her godfather. Tony got up and wandered to Ziva's desk to lean against it with his arms folded. "You should have considered a career in art." Tony said lowly.

Ziva looked up with a smile. "Just because I can color inside the lines doesn't make me an artist." She said modestly.

"You really need to work on your prospective." He said cockily and motioned to her picture. "I have never seen a green dog before."

She stood up and bumped him with her shoulder as she started to picked up the mass amounts of wax that collected on her desk. "I did not choose the color, Amira did." She said, her hair hiding the blush that graced her cheeks.

He smiled and whispered close to her ear. "It's beautiful and I'm happy to post it at my desk." Tony said as he wandered back to her desk, but not before the three year olds arms wrapped themselves around his legs. "Are you leaving?"

She needed and he picked her up properly to give her a hug. "Bye-bye Tony." She said as he sat her back down on her black Mary-Jane's before she scampered back to McGee, also giving him a big hug. "Bye Tim."

McGee said his awkward goodbye before she ran full speed into Ziva's awaiting arms. "Zi!" She said. "Miss you."

Ziva held her tightly against her chest. "I will miss you too." She said putting the girl back down on her feet and Mike nodded his thank you as they exited the squadroom hand in hand.

They watched them leave for a moment before Gibbs' face turned stony again. "Back to work." He said lightly and they went back to work. Tony took one more look at the green puppies before he turned his attention back to his work.


	18. Dams Breaking

**Title: Dam's breaking**

**Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash**

**Characters: Ducky, Gibbs**

**Pairing: NA**

**Genre:**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Summary: Was he a bad person that he wanted to mourn alone?**

Was it bad that he wanted to mourn the death of his mother alone? He had to deal with the cruelty of the world every day, yet allowed himself the privacy from his friends to deal? The last few days of her life were not her worse, nor her best. She sat in a chair watching the birds with the assistance of an aide, she wasn't in any pain, but knew that her time was near which was probably worse than being in any pain.

Donald Mallard, medical examiner for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service hoped that his mother would die. It was almost selfish. He wasn't over all unhappy with how his life turned out, but day by day she was dragging him down with her from the constant badgering from the yippy corgis or the hollow feeling of the house and the constant care of the woman who always loomed. He needed change.

But as a doctor dealing with death day in and day out, was it bad for him to hope for the end?

In her last days he had gone out of his way to make her comfortable, he had sensed the end was nigh. He took her for long walks and talked about their times abroad. He allowed her to tell stories that he had heard a thousand times before and for the brief moment she seemed almost lucid as they went into such detail. Their walks had grown longer as the end grew closer, he could only listen.

It was a Wednesday when she died in her sleep as he had hoped. The night had been clear and they sat out on the patio admiring the stars for a while before they retired for the evening. He put her to bed and she never woke up, just how she wanted it, though she was alone. He had checked in on her on her early in the morning on his way out the door and she was gone.

The woman who constantly hovered, wandered and hollered at inanimate objects was gone.

He was fine.

His checklist was almost complete, damn dogs were gone and the house was on its way to a new owner, a girlfriend who made him change his ties. He survived a long time with going through the motions until one day when he walked into the lab, Abby had caught on to his secret and it was soon out of the bag.

This particular morning when he walked into the dark lab as he had a million times in the past, this time a breathing shape laying on the steel slab of table made him startle. "When did she die, Duck?"

And the dam broke.


	19. First Aid

Title: First Aid

Author: SplishySplash, Ihave207Bones

Characters: Tony/Ziva/McGee/Gibbs

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Humor

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Ziva ran as fast as she could after their suspect who was just with in arms reach of her.

Ziva ran as fast as she could after their suspect who was just with in arms reach of her. The fallen trees and debris from the mountain side was her handicap, each jump slowed her down and each jump made the suspect less coordinated. The suspect landed on a mislaid tree stump forcing him to the ground and allowing her to catch up with him.

She chased him to a gorge where he turned back to give her a smile, if he was able to jump to the other side he was sure to get away, but when an unstable log rolled from underneath her forcing her off balance. As she fell forward, she was able to grab the end of his jacket forcing them both to fall down the steep grade of the gorge.

They hit every rock, stump and trees until they came to a complete stop in a river, completely submerging in the rage of the water. The suspect was first to come up, but he started to panic as Ziva surfaced with a gasp of air.

The water dragged them east and was freezing from winter run off, but she didn't have time to think about it as she was dragged against the random debris, hitting rock after rock and submerging when a branch took hold of her legs. She kicked herself free, the suspect was within reaching distance on his part and used his hand to grab her in a panic, she went back under as her name was called shore so with a swift kick in the ribs he let go and she surfaced. The roaring of a waterfall somewhere east of them forced her to swallow a bit of panic.

"ZIVA!" Cried a mesh of voices from the shore, but she ignored it as a huge rock just to her left appeared. She reached for the drowning man by the collar and ignored the pain in her extremities as she steered them towards the rock.

En route to the rock they got pulled back under water and thrown off course, into a small gully of calm, shallow water. They both laid there for a moment, catching their breath and Ziva was first to her feet in the shallow water, she turned the man over and pinned him to the muddy water. She heard the cracking of branches and she turned to look up to see her coworkers, quickly fighting the fauna to get to her.

She looked up and the suspect took the advantage of her lack of attentiveness, trying to shake her loose, much to her distaste he was successful and she fell back into the calm water before he tried to take off again. To say she was pissed was an understatement and he tried to run, but Ziva was fast to get to her feet and yanked him by the collar, punching squarely in the neck floored him. Breathlessly and tiredly she placed her foot on his back to keep him face down in the water, he pulled his head back to breath she pressed harder, submerging his face again. "Stay." She said, feeling at her waist for her handcuffs but they were absent and it made her realize just how much pain she was in.

The man struggled against her, mostly too tired to adequately fight her until another firmer foot was placed on to his back. She looked up to see her supervisor taking him from her as McGee placed a pair of cuffs on his wrists, mumbling the Miranda Rights. "You okay?" Gibbs asked

She placed her hands on her waist, but flinched in pain. "Fine. . ." She said, breathlessly. He shot her the look that stated that she was lying, but before he could reprimand her Tony appeared next to her and wrapped her tightly in his NCIS windbreaker. "Really . . . I am . . . fine."

Tony rolled his eyes and Gibbs reprimanded her. "Let Tony clean you up and I will decide if you are fine." He said firmly and he turned his attention back to the suspect.

"Come on Ziva, this water is freezing." Tony said, leading her from the tributary towards the bank and in the process, she slipped and held her hands out to brace herself from falling. Tony was quicker and steadied her, giving her a boost onto the shore. "We can't keep you out of the water." His tone was light and teasing, but she had to focus on lack of feeling in her extremities and the pain the replaced the feeling.

Once on shore, he sat her on a rock and pulled his backpack from his back. The first aid kit rested in the very bottom under all of his investigative equipment and in his search, he never took his eyes off her as the apathy set in. It took a couple of tries, but he came up with the small white box and set it next to her and searched for a gauze pad to stifle the blood that came from a gash above her eye.

He crouched close to her, hoping his body heat would radiate to her as he pressed the white cotton to her forehead. She flinched, but said nothing. "Did you hit your head?" He asked, pulling it away to take a look at it and sighed to see it wasn't deep.

"I do not know." She answered shakily, the wind was just enough to exacerbate her condition.

Tony frowned, she could have hit her head on anything on the fall down or when she entered the water. Her pupils were slightly dilated, but it could have been from the excitement. He wouldn't admit it to her, but when she was knocked off her balance and fell down the hill and when she landed in the river, he was scared. He shook his head, this wasn't the time to think about that, she was freezing and in pain. He pulled the windbreaker off and started to work the buttons of her shirt, all the first aid classes he had been forced to sit through had said the same thing: remove any wet clothing to a person suffering from hypothermia.

"This . . . is not how . . .I imagined this happ. . .happening." She said, trying to lighten his mood as he took extreme care to unbutton each button.

He looked up with a raised brow. "You've imagined this situation before?" He asked with a cocky smile, but she hissed when he pulled it from her arms. Her normally perfect right wrist was swollen and warm to the touch. He looked up at her and his frown returned to his face. "That doesn't look good."

But it wasn't the highest priority. He stood her up and took her cargo pants off, sliding them down her long legs just as he had imagined a thousand times in the past but not like this. She had lost one shoe and he took the other one off, leaving her in her underwear and singlet. He sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening, thanking them for thermal blankets and he wrapped one around her tightly, minding her broken wrist as he tended to the cuts along her legs.

One cut on her calf was deep enough that Tony had a hard time getting it to stop bleeding and ended up wrapping it tightly with the rolled cotton. "Does it hurt to breathe?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and forcing her gaze up to him.

She shook her head negatively and he gave her another glance over, all her cuts were bandaged and that left her broken wrist. He dug inside his bag in search of a make shift splint, settling on a stack of reports and he wrapped roller gauze around it, fastening it to her arm. He caught her staring as he moved to grab another gauze roll. "Why so serious?" She asked gruffly, she still shivered even though her color was coming back.

He was surprised that she movie quoted him with the Dark Knight. He sighed and the smile returned to his face. "I think you might have hit your head on something." He teased back.

She shrugged and winced. "One of us has to make movie references." She said as he stood back and unbuttoned his own shirt. "The only falling scene I can think of is The Princess Bride." He pushed back the solar blanket as he did one last catalogue of her injuries.

Tony fed her good arm through the sleeve of his button down shirt, it left him in an undershirt but he didn't care. "There are better ones that fit your situation a bit better like Romancing the Stone. . ." He didn't finish his sentence because he was smacked lightly in the head by the boss. "Sorry boss, I'm focusing."

"What's the diagnosis Doctor DiNozzo." He said, crouching down next to Tony as McGee held onto the suspect tightly.

"Her wrist is broken and she's got a pretty nice gash on her calf that might require stitches." He said, relying his findings with a smile on his face. "She might have a concussion because she seems confused."

He received an icy glare from her and a raised brow from Gibbs. "Confused?"

"She is quoting movies boss, so I think she is confusing herself with me." He said with a cocky smile, he helped her to her feet and gained an elbow to the stomach from her good arm.

Gibbs didn't say anything, but a chuckle escaped his lips before he could censor himself. "Let's go, we got to get you to the hospital." He said and she opened her mouth to argue. "No arguments, Ziva." He looked down at her bare feet and sighed, it was a good mile back to the car.

But before he could suggest anything, they figured out the best way to get back to the car. He helped her on the rock and turned around, allowing for her to climb on his back with ease and with her good arm hook around his neck as he held her legs around his waist carefully. Gibbs allowed them to pass him and another chuckle escaped his lips as he listened to them banter.

DiNozzo was right, she probably was confused enough to allow him to carry her back to the car without as much as an argument. He picked up Ziva's wet clothes as he followed behind the pair, a smile graced his lips when Tony ducked under a branch and she got a face full of leaves.

"WATCH IT!" She yelled, kicking him gently with her unbandaged leg.

He grunted and adjusted her against her back. "I am not a horse, thank you very much." He grumbled loudly as she laughed.

"Giddy up Seabiscut." She said and Gibbs shook his head, stopping for a moment to allow himself to be amused by the pair.

Tony groaned dramatically. "Seriously? There are more badass horses in movies that you could have chosen from like Silver, Zorro's horse or even Shadowfax from Lord of the Rings. . . "


	20. Car Chase

Title: Car Chase

Author: Ihave207bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva/ Abby/Gibbs

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: Action /Het

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Ziva David wasn't a bad driver, Washington D.C. just couldn't handle her skills.

Ziva David wasn't a bad driver, Washington D.C. just could not handle her skills, hell the country couldn't handle her great driving skills which were being tested on this particular rainy morning. Abby had called her for a ride and en route to the Navy Yard she was being tailed by a black SUV without any plates.

She noticed it when she pulled from Abby's building, but didn't think about it when she pulled her new car into the Starbucks drive thru to pick up coffee for her coworkers as a peace offering for being late. Speeding up and quickly turning down a residential street set off the bells when it copied and Abby was thrown into the window. "What the hell?" She cried.

"We are being tailed." She said lowly, the window in the SUV went down and the barrel of the gun glistened in the early morning sun. "GET DOWN!" Abby took off her seatbelt and crawled into the space between the dashboard and the passenger seat.

Gunshots fired and Abby screamed, covering her head. "What do we do?" She said with panic laced into her voice.

Ziva tossed her cell phone at her as she maneuvered the car towards the freeway. "Call Tony." She said keeping her voice calm as she swerved to avoid the bullets.

*~*

He sat with his feet on his desk reading over his magazine, basking in celebration that he beat Ziva into the office for the first time in . . . forever. McGee typed furiously at his computer, probably working on the continuation of his novel, so Tony ignored him.

"Ziva's late." McGee commented after awhile.

"Uh huh." Tony answered nonchalantly and turned the page.

McGee sighed annoyed. "Don't you think that it's a little odd?" McGee asked with an eye roll as he gained a shrug from Tony. "I mean the last time she was late, she was placed on the FBI most wanted list."

Tony's phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket to read the screen. "See she's calling to say that she is on her way." He answered as he opened the phone and pressed it to his ear. "Sleep in late this morning Sweet Cheeks?"

"TONY!" Cried the voice on the other end that surely didn't belong to his partner and he dropped his feet on to the floor, sitting up straight and startling the probie from his desk.

*~*

"TONY!" She cried again as Ziva pressed the pedal faster. Ziva could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she pushed it to go faster and she wove in and out of traffic trying to lose their chasers. A light forced her to slam on her breaks, but the car slid through the light and Ziva fought to maintain control which she did with ease as she entered the freeway. She could hear Tony's voice trying to calm the scientist, but it worked for her as she loosened her grip on the wheel. "We are being followed."

The chaser put off a couple more rounds and Abby let off another scream. Ziva could hear Tony tell her to put the speaker phone on because he wasn't getting anything from Abby. "Ziva can you hear me?" He asked through the speaker.

"Hello my little hairy butt." She said lightly as more shots were fired, hitting the window and shattering her rear view mirror.

"Talk to me Ziva." Tony said, she could hear the worry in his voice.

Ziva took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. "I am busy Tony." She said, she looked in the side mirrors to judge just how far away they were and they were almost close enough to ram her. If Abby wasn't in the car, she would've slammed on the breaks to catch them off guard, but in this situation she had to keep it child friendly. She mumbled something in Hebrew before collecting herself. "We are heading southbound, just past Washington." She started before the SUV bumped her bumper, but she was able to slide into the lane next to her, cutting off a van.

"McGee is tracking your location. . ." His voice faded as he was giving instructions to McGee. "I'm getting Gibbs and we will find you, just be careful."

Her car fishtailed as she switched lanes again. "Be careful?" Cried Abby, her voice muffled. "It's raining and we are going well over seventy miles per hour. . ."

"Abby, we will be fine." Ziva said shortly as her right side was clipped and she spun out of control into the grassy median. She turned the wheel into the turn and lessened up on the gas pedal. It put her facing the other direction and her wheels fought for traction as she pressed the pedal to go northbound. She released a breath that she was holding and loosened her grip as she sped back in the direction towards the city. "See?"

*~*

"McGee get a trace on Ziva's cell phone and call local LEO's." Tony said as he rushed around to the stairs, taking them two at a time towards MTAC. McGee frowned, but did as he was told knowing that he would bring Gibbs and explain everything. ". . . We will find you, just be careful."

When he reached the secure room, he was too pumped up with adrenaline to be breathless. The door opened and his superiors jumped to their feet. "DiNozzo?" Asked the higher of the two with his shoulders squared to lecture him for disrupting their meeting so abruptly.

"Boss, it's Ziva and Abby." Tony said when the breathlessness caught up to him. "They are being tailed and shot at, McGee is getting a location." Gibbs got up and they both rushed from the room. Tony pressed the phone to his ear, all he could hear was Abby's cries and Ziva's curses followed by some gunshots. "Ziva?"

"I am here." She said, her voice was like clichéd music to his ears. "We switched directions, we are heading northbound."

Tony took a deep breath, she was heading southbound not too long ago. Gibbs motioned for him to hand him the phone and Tony handed it over. "Are you two okay?"

"Gibbs!" Sobbed Abby, it was muffled by her knees.

Gibbs' face grew dark and he grabbed his things from his desk, shoving it shut with force. "We are coming to get you two, Ziva can you hear me?" He asked, clipping the gun to his belt.

"Yes." She said shortly, the tires screeched loudly and he couldn't tell if it was coming from her car or another. Gibbs looked up at the plasma and the map had Ziva's name zipping along the roads, he looked at McGee for an update.

He had the phone hanging from his ear. "LEO's are locked on to her signal, they want us to get her off the freeway onto the Harrison Highway and they will take them out." He typed on his computer quickly. "Which is the next exit."

"Did you hear that Ziva?"He asked.

"Next exit." She confirmed and swore again. "I cannot talk right now."

"Then listen, me and Tony are on our way." And Ziva's line went dead.

*~*

The SUV got back on track and zipped along to catch up, but the weather decided to get worse and the rain fell in sheets. She cut off another car and it skidded off the road in her attempt to exit the freeway, horns blared and she slid off the ramp, running the red light. The SUV fishtailed behind her and the flashing lights from a police car followed them.

She looked back to check the distance, to see that one cop car had turned to four and they didn't seem to do anything to heed the situation. She glanced at her passenger, who was still huddled in a ball on the floor with her makeup smeared down her face, she decided to take action. "Abby get up."

"What?" She asked, looking up at her as if she was crazy.

"Get off the floor." She said, turning her attention back to the straight road. "And put your seatbelt on."

The goth did as she was instructed, covering her eyes with her hands as Ziva slammed on the breaks. The car hydroplaned for a bit until the traction caught, but the shiny SUV didn't have time to stop. The driver swerved to miss it, overcorrecting and sliding until it was upside down. With another well placed sigh she pulled her car to a stop and put the car into park. "Stay." She ordered as she pulled her gun from the glove department and stalked over to the upturned vehicle as it was swarmed with local police.

*~*

When Gibbs skidded to a halt at the parade of lights, the two of them jumped out of the car in search of both Abby and Ziva who were among them. In the parade of lights were police cars, ambulances and a coroners vehicle, but in the middle was two tow trucks both holding cars. Tony's heart dropped when he couldn't pick out his partner among the hoard of people, until Gibbs grabbed his arm and pointed to an ambulance that held a very sour ninja and a very relieved scientist.

"Gibbs!" Abby cried, jumping off the stretcher into the older man's arms who held her tightly to his chest, not bothered by the rain that fell down.

Ziva got up from her seat on the bumper and allowed Tony to pull her close to him, she could feel the relief drain from him as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, burying his face into her wet hair and she felt the stress of the situation melt away with the warmth his body provided. It took a moment, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes.

They stood there for a long moment before he pressed his lips to the crown of her head. She tensed, but he didn't let go, only scooting back to give her a look. "Is hugging me that bad?" He asked, slightly offended.

She shook her head and pointed to her car that was being hauled off. "That is my brand new car." She said, it resembled a whine. "It now is full of dents and bullet holes."

He rolled his eyes and pulled her close to him again. "You are safe and that is all that matters." He whispered against her head. Abby called his name and he looked up, but didn't release his ninja. "Yes Abby?"

"I don't know where you got the idea that Ziva is a bad driver, she was amazing." Abby said with a bright smile. "It was like Fast and The Furious with the drifting and screeching tires, I was completely terrified, but it was awesome."

He smiled softly and loosened his grip on Ziva, but she was content to stand there and ride out the adrenaline rush. She had her eyes closed and her head rested against his chest, her breathing soft. He knew the situation was worsened by Abby being the passenger and Ziva had to handle the situation with kid gloves, to keep both of them safe.

Gibbs cleared his throat after a long few moments that he allowed them to break the rules. "Hey." He said and they broke apart sheepishly. "We got work to do."


	21. Hospital Chapels

Title: Hospital Chapels

Author: Ihave207bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva

Pairing: TIVA

Genre: Het, Hurt/Comfort/ Friendship

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Set during Hiatus, Tony sits in the hospital chapel to allow himself some time to collect his thoughts before he had to fill Gibbs' shoes to figure out who did this to him.

Anthony DiNozzo wasn't a very religious man, but sitting in the dinky hospital chapel made him feel the hope that everything would be okay in the end. He didn't have a lot of time to grieve for the man who he had seen as a father, but did he really need to? Leroy Jethro Gibbs was laying in a hospital bed, in a coma that he didn't want to wake up from.

Gibbs. Explosion. Coma. Case.

He was in charge now and he had to find who did this to him, but he needed a moment to collect himself. He wasn't sure why Jesus hanging on the cross in front of the chapel brought so much relief to him, but he needed all the guidance he could get right now, even if it was the wooden cross.

Everybody was looking at him to fill some extremely big shoes.

The door opened and some light footsteps walked towards him, he knew who they belonged to. The person sat next to him, but didn't say anything only laying a gentle hand on his arm. His breath hitched and he looked ahead. "I don't think I can do this."

Her hand traveled up his arm to his shoulder, her fingers danced lightly up his neck to his cheek and took a hold of his chin, forcing him to remove his eyes from the cross and look her in the eye. "I have no doubts that you are the right man for the job." She said firmly and she brushed her fingers across his unshaved cheek.

He released a shaky breath. "What if. . ." He started, but was stopped when a thumb brushed his lips.

"No what if's." She said just as firmly. "You are not Gibbs, you are Tony who is just as good as good as him, he taught you everything you need to know. You have full support from Jenny, McGee, Abby, Ducky . . ."

He took her hand in his. "And you?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "Do you have to ask?" She asked, giving his hand a squeeze and rested her head against his shoulder, to let him know that she would always be there to support him even when everybody was looking at him for support.

Which was more than he got from a cross hanging on the wall, maybe that was why he wasn't a religious man. He didn't need to be when he had Ziva.


	22. Canadian Nights

Title: Canadian Nights

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Cast +Jenny-Abby

Pairing: Tony/Ziva

Genre: HET

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: Set during Blowback, Tony and Ziva sit on top of the box awaiting orders from the director and it is FREEZING!

They lay side by side on top of a huge box, guns and scopes positioned at the plane as they waited for instructions. They were in Canada on an op that she wasn't clearly briefed on the situation, she was definitely serving penance for chasing Charles Herro into a heart attack, but it didn't explain why Tony was laying next to her instead of McGee. It was probably because all of the undercover work he did for the director and he knew more about this La Grenouille than she did.

The northern air was cold and she shivered slightly as she waited. It had to be just over freezing and she could see her breath escape from her mouth. Tony looked over at her and he frowned. _Cold?_ He mouthed and she couldn't suppress another shiver before she could answer.

He pushed himself up just enough to scoot his camera and tripod over, just as he got back into place and his body heat merged with hers they were being summoned by their earwig. "Gulf Stream 5 registration 218 Echo." He muttered into the microphone. "He flew into DC on a different G5, when I tagged their luggage."

"Tagged their luggage?" She asked, using her scope to get a closer view of the people inside. "Oh that's when Jenny had you undercovers."

He glanced at her. "It's undercover, not undercovers." He whispered and she only rolled her eyes. She tuned out everything else that was going on in her head, Gibbs talking to Jenny, Ducky responding, but the word firefight caught her attention.

She shared a look with Tony and she shivered again, the northern air seemed to surround them and she scooted closer to Tony until they were practically flush against each other. She relished the feeling of his strong body next to hers and mentally cursed herself for allowing the cold get to her, he had a girlfriend that nobody had ever met and seemed really close to her and she was taking advantage of him. Not sexually of course, but if they stayed there any longer she might resort to it for warmth. "_Archangel, Ducky might have been compromised."_ Jenny said into her ear.

Ziva pushed any thoughts of her partner aside and focused. "Archangel has him covered." She said, she needed to focus on the mission. Keeping Ducky safe and listen to orders, whatever they may be. The others ordered Ducky to give the laptop to the arms dealers and McGee gave instructions, but her thoughts wandered back to the man who was sharing her body heat.

He covered his mouth piece and glanced over to her. "You still cold?" He asked softly, so the other couldn't hear him. Her body gave away her discomfort and he scooted closer to her, she was practically tucked underneath him, but she couldn't complain because it was warmth.

She allowed herself one moment to bask in the feeling of his body on top of hers before they saw Ducky get out of the car and they shouted into the earwig _GIVE ME THE DIAMONDS_ and she targeted the arms dealer. "Archangel awaiting instructions." She said, following him with the scope. _This was to be a simple snatch wasn't it?_ Gibbs asked and she could feel Tony tense. _Or did you have something else in mind?_ "About to lose target, will lose target in five seconds." Her finger flexed around the trigger, but waited.

"Archangel requesting instruction." Tony said and they waited, the silence in the earwig was making her anxious.

"Director!" She whispered before they got the order _STAND DOWN Archangel STAND DOWN. _Ziva allowed her finger to remove from the trigger and she released a breath she was holding. Slowly they sat up and her muscles ached from being pinned down to the hard wood box.

Slowly they collected their things and climbed off the box. "You still cold?" He asked, his hands were on her waist to help her off the box and in a moment of weakness she nodded, he set his equipment down and pulled her into his arms. He ran his hands up and down her arms so that the feeling would return to them.

"How are you not cold?" She asked, muffled by her face in his chest. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist and his hands roamed her back.

She could feel him chuckle. "I've adapted to the cold, but you my Israeli friend are from the desert." He said lightly. They allowed themselves to stand like that for a moment, to the point well past friendship and he didn't seem to care.

But she did. "Tony, we should not be doing this." She said and he dropped his hands immediately. "Your girlfriend would not approve."

Tony frowned and took a step back. "Oh right, girlfriend." He said as if he seemed to forget all about her and Ziva raised her eyebrow, but couldn't question it as the rest of the team came out of the surveillance van. He looked away from her and looked at the director, whose face was as red as her hair. To say that she was pissed was an understatement, her op was a failure and they had wasted time on coming up north, to the cold. All in all, Tony didn't care about that, he would have never played human blanket to his freezing partner. He could feel the familiar stirring inside of him that he got when he thought about his partner, that were not kosher when he had a 'girlfriend.'

The director began to rant about the CIA and their deep cover thing, but he didn't care. He was having a moment with his partner and she inadvertently ruined it.


	23. Cartagena

Title: Cartagena

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva/Gibbs

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: HET

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: A different approach on the Agent Afloat.

They were on a red eye flight to Cartagena, Columbia and though she was tired and gross she was still excited to see her partner after four long months of no communication. She wouldn't go as far as say that she MISSED him, but he seemed to haunt her every thought, both awake and asleep. She glanced up from her magazine after she read the same paragraph for the fifth time to see that her boss dozing peacefully to her left and could help to wonder when she had ever seen him so relaxed. He had told her specifically, and just shy of an order, to get some rest because there was no foreseeable sleep in the future.

Her mind kept her awake and the Skymall magazine wasn't doing her justice on falling asleep and she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing right now. She shook her head and blamed it on jetlag as she placed the catalogue into the seat pocket, turning up the volume on her iPod and choosing something more on the mellow side.

Frank Sinatra, damn it.

She really did miss him and he was the cause for her restlessness. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, but it didn't last long because it was announced they were going to land soon and almost instantly Gibbs sat up, stretching his cramped muscles before giving her one of his knowing looks. He knew that she hadn't slept and he shrugged, that was her own problem.

*~*

The cantina he stood in was like it should be in a Girls Gone Wild video and he couldn't even pretend to enjoy it as if it were one. Being locked on a floating piece of metal for four months dealing with petty problems aboard it was driving him loco and the chance to come ashore was like Christmas, considering he was working the case and the medical examiner wasn't cooperating. He pulled the satellite phone and pressed it to his ear and sighed impatiently.

On the fourth ring all hope drained until a voice came on the other end. "Agent Gibbs' desk." Said the voice he recognized all too well.

"McGee?" Tony asked, a smile spread across his face.

"Tony, are you back on dry land?" McGee said answered.

"Yeah it's a tropical paradise, really. Just like the Blue Lagoon except no white sand, beaches, magical waterfall and definitely no Brooke Shields." Tony said miserably taking a step towards the opening and turning his back to the empty cantina.

He could almost hear McGee chuckle and he wanted wring his neck. "I do have some good news for you."

"You're coming to relieve me?" Tony asked hopefully.

"No, but Vance sent. . ."Tony frowned and rolled his eyes before interrupting him.

"Tequila? I'm going to need some tequila to get through the next three months." Tony mumbled, his hope shattered and he was going to need a whole lot of tequila. "You know what, make it two cases with the way Vance runs things I'm going to be agent afloating well into my sixties." He sighed impatiently. "How's it going with him anyway?"

"It couldn't be better, DiNozzo." A voice snapped on the other line, it was Director Vance.

"Director Vance." His hand went to the back of his neck, why didn't he expect him to be listening on the line. "I was just telling McGee about how much I miss everyone." He began to talk about the case and explain that he couldn't get the ME report. "I'm having a slight. . ."

"We need that report." Vance interrupted.

His frown turned into a glare as he already knew that information, but he spoke through his frustration. "Easier said than done, he doesn't care much for Americans, unless it's just me. . ."

"You'll find out soon enough, Gibbs and Ziva flew out last night." Vance said, he probably said something more but Tony was too excited to hear it.

"When do they get here?" Tony asked excitedly.

A voice from behind him, made him hang up the phone and turn around slowly. "We are already here." The voice belonged to Gibbs, a bright smile on his face.

The woman who stood next to him wore a matching smile on her face and he gave her the once over, her cargos clung tightly to her hips and complimented the red, a low v-neck top with her Star of David glistening brightly, her straightened hair rested along her back in the way he liked it. "Nice tan." She said tilting her head the way she always did when she flirted with him, but stood impatiently awaiting for him to make the next move.

Ziva shifted like a nervous puppy and Gibbs shook his head. "Go ahead." He said and Ziva came around the table that separated them. He smiled brightly as he engulfed her into his arms with his arms around her waist and her toes lifted from the ground she buried her face into his neck. She closed her eyes tightly and his hands roamed her back, he put her back on the ground when she did the unthinkable.

Her hands went to his smooth cheeks and she pulled his face down to his, pressing her lips to his in a simple 'I missed you kiss' and wasn't the least bit bothered by the fact that her boss was standing right behind her. Not to be outdone in her public display of affection, he kissed her back and ran his tongue against her lower lip but before he could deepen it further a cough from behind them broke them apart, looking sheepish and breathless. His hands returned to his side and a cocky smile came to his face. "Man have I miss you guys."

He gave a look of amusement. "I can tell." He said lightly. "Looks like you could use some help down here." Tony extended a hand and he accepted it willingly in a shake, choosing to ignore the other hand that snaked around the waist of his travelling companion.

He motioned for them to follow him out of the cantina as he explained his findings and his problem with seeing the autopsy. They fell back into the status quo, something that he had missed during his time at sea, it clearly wasn't the only thing and each time his hand brushed against hers was like a bolt of electricity that ran through him.


	24. Maybe He Could've Prevented It

Title: Maybe He Could've Stopped It

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva

Pairing: T/Z

Genre: HET,

Disclaimer: I own nothing… 3.24 East

Summary: Maybe he could have prevented Somalia and in the story he does.

They were going to the last place on the planet that Tony wanted to be at.

Israel.

In wake of past events that left him mentally and physically exhausted, they were commissioned to take back the body of Mossads 'finest' who he had shot, in Ziva's apartment. He glanced over at her and she sat as far away from him as possible, on the other side of Vance and she stared out the window. Tony knew that she had some sort of feelings for the man and he also knew that he was sent there to betray her, to hurt the woman who he cared deeply for.

She sighed and rested her head against the window, a lone tear dripping down her cheek that went unnoticed to the two men who separated him from her and he wanted nothing more than to wipe it away. Ziva didn't understand that he had to kill Michael Rivken before he hurt her or he killed him and with her being so unpredictable, he didn't have a chance to talk to her.

Not that she had talked to him since it happened.

The plane landed in Germany to refuel and allowing its passengers a break from the cramp space, creating neutral ground for both of them. When she got off the plane, she booked it away from the terminal and he followed, ignoring his name being called from behind him.

Ziva had to have known that he was following her, but chose to ignore him. It was when they were far enough away and secluded enough that she stopped suddenly. "Following me is unwise, Tony." She growled dangerously.

He took a deep breath. "I needed to talk to you." He said, hiding the intimidating feeling that swamped him. He knew that all of the weapons were stored somewhere on their plane, but her use of ordinary objects scared him.

She shook her hair and some of her hair escaped her hair tie as she looked to the floor, collecting herself. "Nothing you can say. . ."

"I know nothing I can say can bring him back." Tony said firmly and he released a shaky breath. "But I'm sorry."

She turned around with fire in her eyes and got close enough that he could smell her toothpaste. "You are sorry?" She roared, poking him with a sharp finger. "He was drunk. . ."

He took her hand tightly in his and suddenly he was angry also. "I did not go there to kill him!" He cried and her eyes grew darker. "I went to your apartment tell you. . ."

With a strong hand she smacked his hand away. "Tell me what? That you were jealous?" She roared, but took a step back to keep herself from hitting him.

Tony flinched because it was true that he was jealous, but that wasn't the point and he purposely got in her space, not worried that she could dislocate his other shoulder or worse he would be joining Michael Rivken six feet underground. "That he was using you as a cover!" He shouted and it echoed through the empty hall.

They stared at each other, breathing like wild animals. "You do not think that I did not figure that out?" Ziva said in a whisper, her eyes dropped to the floor and another tear dropped from her eyes. He was brave enough to wipe the tear this time, her reserve broke and she started to sob. Tony did the only that he could and pulled her into his arms as she began to sob uncontrollably against his chest. "How did I get myself into this mess?"

Tony buried face into her hair as he held her tightly to calm her quakes. "I'm so sorry."He whispered into her curls. In the years that he had known her, he had never seen her cry like this and knew that she hated losing control. It was a long moment before her sobs subsided and she pulled away, awkwardly wiping the tears from her eyes. "Feel better?"

She nodded. "I feel like an idiot." She said with a hiccup.

He pulled her close to him again. "You are not an idiot." He whispered into her ear.

Before he could say anything a cough from behind them interrupted anything that she was going to say back to him. She pushed him away and looked at the floor almost ashamed and Tony turned to see their boss standing behind them, looking surprisingly uncomfortable. "The plane is boarding now." He said awkwardly and he turned around, heading back down the hallway.

Ziva moved to follow and Tony stopped her briefly. "I'm sorry that I hurt you." He said.

She stepped up on her tip toes to press her lips to his cheek. "No it is I who am sorry, that I blamed you for this mess." She said in a whisper and with that she walked away, leaving him to stand in the hallway.

Would they be okay?


	25. Arizona Nights

Title: Arizona Nights

Author: Ihave207Bones, SplishySplash

Characters: Tony/Ziva

Pairing: Tony/Ziva

Genre: Het, post Jetlag set during Mothers Day

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: He hated Arizona, but with Ziva it wasn't so bad.

He HATED Arizona.

He didn't remember why he hated it so much, but today after spending twenty some-odd hours in the heat after getting off a god awful flight he hated it more. Tony groaned again after they left their victim's house and Ziva drove, like a sane person for once, to a hotel somewhere just north of the border.

He didn't see her glance at him as his eyes closed, letting the chill of the window cool his burning skin and she reached across the consol to flip the air conditioning switch up higher. "Thank you." He said when he was greeted with the freezing air.

"No problem." She said with a smile as a small hotel came into view. It wasn't the Ritz Carlton, but his tired muscles cried for a bed and the rest of his body craved a shower. She pulled in and he frowned when the air was turned off and he was surrounded by heat. "Go get the room, I will get the bags."

He shook his head. "No I'm fine." He said working up the drive to go out in the sweltering heat, granted that it was about ten degrees colder than when they arrived to Arizona, but it still had to be relatively close a hundred degrees. He took one look at the temperature gauge on the rear view mirror and frowned when it only read seventy degrees, it lied. She gave him a look and he complied, opening the door and dredging towards the office.

She met him with a tired smile and he shoved the credit card into his wallet then handed her the room key and followed him into the elevator. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes, she studied him and frowned, his face was flushed and he still seemed to be sweating in the air conditioning. They reached the fifth floor and as expected he only booked on room, one tucked away in the far corner and he slid his own key inside the reader, stepping inside he was greeted by a wave of relief.

First thing he did was flop on the bed with his face down in the pillows and released a loud sigh. The door clicked behind him and the other bed gave way to their bags. Ziva flipped the lights on and he groaned as she poked him in the side. "I'm going to take a shower." She said and he didn't move.

It wasn't until he could hear the water running that he rolled over and reached for the remote that rested in the top drawer next to Gideon's bible. Tony surfed the channels aimlessly, but turned it off when it held nothing but news, Spanish stations and soft core porn, he was too tired to care and he let his eyes close. It wasn't long until Ziva came out of the shower wearing a tank top and sweats, she let off a small smile seeing him dozing off but frowned when she took notice that his cheeks were still flushed.

Ziva walked over to him and gently laid her hand on his forehead, causing him to startle awake. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked, sitting on the small space between him and the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine." He said sitting up slightly. "It's just hotter than hell."

She shrugged and stood back up to allow him to get up on his feet. "Go take a shower." She said, patting him on the behind to encourage him to move quickly. He grumbled something under his breath and went through his bags for his toiletry bag, pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom.

Slowly he undressed and turned the water on, it was warm but that isn't what he wanted. He stepped inside and the cool water worked his hot muscles. He closed his eyes and stood there, immediately his temperature went down and he felt so much better about being in Arizona. He turned the water off and slowly began to dry himself, he could hear Ziva talking softly on the phone through the paper thin walls.

He heard her end the call and he dressed slowly, he felt a hundred times better.

When he finally exited the bathroom, Ziva had her eyes closed in the space he once occupied and the bed set up for sleeping with a thick book open on her chest. It was his turn to smile as he placed his things back into his bag and he slowly stalked around the bed to pull the thick book off her chest. Tony smiled again as he recognized the fancy script on the front Gone with the Wind, a classic movie that he hadn't seen in a long time. He turned to place it on the bedside table and she caught his hand. "Are you feeling better?" She asked in a whisper.

He sat in the small space as she had done before as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Yes I feel much better." He said as her cool hand went back to his forehead before traveling to her cheek.

When she was satisfied that his body temperature was under control she returned her hand to her the bed and she shifted under the sheets to the other side of the bed allowing him to crawl in next to her. Without thinking he got under the sheets with her as he did not that long ago in Paris. "Gibbs called while you were in the shower." She said turning off her bedside lamp.

He reciprocated and slid down the bed, releasing a comfortable sigh. "Yeah?"

Ziva shifted closer to him, rolling on her side to face him. "He said that McGee booked our tickets for the early afternoon so we can get 'plenty of rest'." He sat up slightly and she knew he was surprised. "His words not mine."

"Are you sure you were talking to the right person?"Tony asked, slightly in shock and he laid his head back on the pillow.

He could feel her nod. "He knew the secret password." She said lightly, the slope in the bed caused her to gravitate to the middle so that she was flush against him, but she didn't mind. "This case has been . . ."

"Difficult? I know." He finished with a yawn.

She rested her head against his shoulder and she sighed. "Good night." She whispered, at ease enough to allow a yawn to escape her own lips.

"Night." He whispered as he watched her drift off to sleep. He was exhausted, but he couldn't make himself fall asleep, his mind was full of thoughts pertaining to the case and the well being of his boss that he barely registered that her hand crept up his t-shirt and rested on his chest, right above his heart that was now beating erratically. He took a deep breath and watched her, breathing in and out slowly, she looked peaceful enough to allow himself the comfort of having her next to him. He didn't know what was going though his mind when he took his right hand and wrapped it around her much smaller hand before he drifted off to sleep.

Maybe Arizona wasn't so bad so bad after all.


End file.
